Sanctuary
by ForceFic
Summary: What would happen if Xion did not make the choice to fight Roxas? What if Naminé restored Sora's memories without Roxas and Xion returning to Sora? Named after the theme. Based on 358/2 Days for DS. Begin at either Chapter One or Chapter Nine
1. Name and Number

Special thanks to blblblblbl for correcting me on Demyx's 'Sitar' not 'Sistar'. Thank you!

_**NO READING IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THE GAME YET!**_

_**PLEASE!**_

_**SO MANY SPOILERS!**_

You can skip this if you want to! *Wink, Wink* (~_0) *Hint, Hint*

Well, I'm pretty much obsessed with 358/2 Days. (Best DS graphics and storyline I've ever seen!) But more specifically: obsessed with Roxas and Xion. I was bored and decided to re-play the game, excited to find out about Proud mode! I began my new file, already nearly completed. Now I want a new ending to the game (not that I would ever DREAM of changing Square Enix's plot in the official game!) So I decided to write a FanFic! YAY! (^u^)

So what if, before the final boss battle, (excluding the fight with Riku, considering how easy it seemed after fighting Xion =P) Xion had not approached Roxas and revealed her changed face? What if she and Roxas never had to disappear, Naminé still able to repair Sora's memories? Well, that is the foundation of this story! (I mean, who wouldn't want Roxas and Xion to go on living? X3)

I actually took this from the manga series. That way people would see a new outlook on the same plot! : D (If you want to read it for yourself, go to OneManga* and search for "Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days" in the upper right hand corner.) So anyway, this is from Roxas's Point of View, so you won't see everything from the manga in this. Some lines I formatted, so it won't be the exaaact words from the manga, but close enough. Also, some scenes I _did_ take from the game because I liked them better/ it wasn't in the manga and I liked that particular scene. (* .com of course, but FanFic kept deleting it when I added it to the end. I have no idea why X.X)

Well, I know what your thinking: "DANG! SHUT UP, GIRL! SERIOUSLY…" X] So, enough of me! Enjoy!

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**A Name and Number**_

I remember the day I was born. I wasn't thinking clearly, but I still remembered. I noticed… my presence. My existence. I was… alive. I think I was standing next to a gate with a huge lock. I didn't know what to do- in fact, I didn't know anything. So I just stood there.

Then I remember… another person. Someone wearing black. This person appeared out of thin air- literally, a cloud of black and dark purple swirling smoke. And that's when I was named.

"You seek answers," he told me. I couldn't see his face under that cloak's hood. Only now could I tell you what it looked like, since I saw that jacket for the whole first year of my life. All black. It reached the wearer's ankles, a zipper that reached the wearer's knees and a hood as well- attached to the back of the 'V'-shaped neck. Silvery strings to tighten the hood and a small silver chain and beads as another way to fasten the coat together below the neck loosely. "I can give you purpose," he said next. With a wave of his hand, a few golden letters appeared in the air in front of me. 'Sora', it said. The slightly transparent letters spun around me, an 'X' appearing in front of me as well. The letters stopped revolving around me, slowly coming to a stop in a new order. Now it spelled a new name…

"Roxas…"

"That is right- the new you," he said. For just a moment I saw one of his beaming eyes and smiling mouth.

This man- 'Xemnas', they called him- gave me a cloak just like his- fitted for me, of course. Not to mention a black shirt and pants to go under it, black gloves and a pair of knee-high, rounded boots. This was the only thing I wore for the entire first year of my life. Of course I had it memorized. What I always forgot, however, was that name- Roxas- and the number he assigned me. Number XIII. I was the 13th Member of the 'Organization'. I had to constantly repeat this in my head just to remember it.

My head was foggy enough, but I also had to constantly review the other 'Organization XIII' Members' names as well. I found out early on that I wore that uniform because I was a part of this Organization. If you asked me what the Organization's goal was, I would have just stared at you. The funny thing was, even if I listened as hard as I could, paid all of my attention to what was being said, I forgot what I heard the minute the sentence had ended.

"Time to get up, Roxas!" he yelled, waiting patiently beside my plain white bed. He had red, spiked back hair, thin eyebrows, and a small black tattoo under each eye shaped like an upside down drop of water- usually wearing a wide grin or grimace. I sat up drowsily, pretty annoyed that he woke me up. I didn't say a thing- not only because it seemed so hard just to form a simple sentence in my hazy state of mind, but also because these people, the Organization Members, took me in. I guess I felt like I owed them or something- the least I could do was respect them. I couldn't, however, hold back a glare before Axel ignored me and continued, "Same as ever, huh. We're meeting in the Round Room today. Let's go."

Seven days after I was born… I knew my name was "Roxas" and my number was "13". Other than that I was completely empty.

"Have you memorized my name yet?" he asked as he led me down a long blank hallway. His tall, slender build made him slow his pace so I could walk beside him with my short, slow strides. I walked in silence. I tried to remember what he told me before, but I could only think of my own name and number. I must have seemed pretty stupid at the time- being asked a question and giving no reply. "It's Axel. A-X-E-L."

"Ax…" He _just_ told me- _spelled if out for me_. I had no idea what he had just said, so I took a guess. "…cess."

"-EL!" he yelled. He wasn't angry. I guess he was making sure I heard him this time.

"… -el," I repeated. I was still blank. The conversation, I remembered. It just didn't click when I tried to make since of it. An improvement, I guess. The conversations I had before then, I didn't remember at all. But soon, we turned and walked towards two closed doors.

The Round Room. A plain white and gray room that formed a circle of thrones, the highest in rank sitting in the highest throne, around a large circular platform, only one double-door entrance/exit

"Gentlemen," I heard the leader- Xemnas (I found that out later, despite being told several times before)- say, even through the thick doors. "Our eagerly awaited 13th Member has joined us." Axel opened the doors and took me to the center of the room as Xemnas introduced me to the other Members for the first time. I stared blankly at the base of the throne in front of me. "The one chosen by the Keyblade. Number 13. Roxas."

I needed to be given a name. Then I could exist in this place.

And now I could.

"Hey," I heard someone say as Axel and I were leaving the Round Room. I didn't pay attention, though. I didn't hear anyone address me specifically, so I tried to keep quiet in case I said something wrong. My head was just starting to clear up a bit, anyway. "So this is Number 13, chosen by the Keyblade…" I froze for less than a second, but only because Axel kept walking. So I continued down the hallway, too. Besides, he looked pretty creepy. Old, with long white-blond hair. I didn't say a word. "Don't just walk past!" he yelled. I was afraid I'd done something wrong until Axel turned his head over his shoulder in order to see him, stopping in the hall for a moment.

"Eh? Huh? What?" he said dully, obviously trying to annoy him.

"When you see your superiors in the hallways, you should greet them… Isn't that common courtesy? Hmm? Well?" he asked impatiently.

"Oh, right," Axel sighed, then grinned. "I haven't seen you in a while, was wondering if you were dead."

"HM! Don't get too cocky just because you were chosen to look after him…" he mumbled, biting his finger. The scarred man behind him (later I found out he was Xigbar) simply stared. Waiting to see what happened like me, I guess.

"That Axel's better at taking care of people than he looks," the man said as I headed to the Round Room again with Axel, his smirk creasing his scar and moving his eye-patch a bit.

"Certainly," said another man (Xaldin).

"It suits him," agreed another man with shaved blond hair and beard (Luxord).

"I agree," chimed in another man with pink hair (Marluxia) as he sniffed a flower.

"I've just gotten used to it, you guys…" he said, slouching over as if watching me was the last thing he wanted to be doing. But I paid no mind. I was busy looking around the Round Room before the meeting, watching the people in the same uniforms as Axel and I wore.

"Hey nanny!" someone chanted.

"Shut up," Axel moaned.

"This is su-ch a pain," a heard the sole female of the group whine, folding her hands behind her head. She had light blond hair that reached her shoulders, slicked back except for two strands that wouldn't go down. (Larxene.)

'Organization XIII'. The group I was a Member of- All of the Members had no 'hearts'.

"Okay," Axel said, grabbing my shoulders and placing me in my own throne- the shortest of all. (If I wasn't so spaced out, I bet I would have felt _real_ special…) My throne was still dozens of feet from the floor, though. "Sit down- and don't fall!" he continued, pushing my shoulders back until they hit he back of the seat, helping me stay stabilized.

"So Number 13 is still all hazy?" I heard a man say. I glanced down. He was huge. Taller than but not as thin as Axel. This guy (Lexaeus) was squarely build. Another scary Member.

"It's not impossible," said another guy- faded purple hair, chin length and bangs in his face. He wasn't as threatening-looking as the some of the others, but still a little creepy. "He's not like us…" he continued, "because he doesn't have any memories of before he was born." I was confused enough, so I figured I wasn't getting what he said because I was still 'hazy'. I ignored him for the moment, still spaced out and looking at a wall, then at the ceiling high above me. "Without a 'heart' or 'memories', it'll be a while before he shows real reactions to anything."

"I see…"

"Phew!" I heard Axel's voice. He was just throwing himself into his own throne when there was a weird noise. "WHAT'S THIS?" he screamed angrily, holding out something round that said 'BREAK WIND' he found in in throne's seat.

"Kyaha haha haha haha," I heard a guy with tons of small light brown spikes of hair cry as he twisted in his throne. (Demyx.) The blond girl stood at the base of this guy's throne, making the same sounds. "You farted, you farted!"

"YOU LITTLE…!" Axel seemed pretty upset about whatever it was that was happening. I watched as the two Members made those 'ha ha' sounds, remembering what I was told…

In order to pretend that they have 'hearts' like people… they act relying on their 'memories' of their time as humans. But they don't actually feel anything… All of them just share one strong feeling and they gather in this castle. That is… they want 'hearts'.

"Gentlemen," I heard someone say. The leader. I snapped out my deep thought. Everyone was already in their thrones of varying height. This seemed familiar. I had heard him say this before. "This day will be a day to remember. A new Member has joined us." Another new Member? I leaned forward in anticipation, trying not to fall for Axel's sake. "The 14th…"

Unlike me, this Member walked in without anyone leading her. And her hood was up. I started to doubt if I entered the right way. But Axel would have corrected me, so I dismissed the thought… So many thoughts. I could never concentrate very well. But this was still as alert as I had ever been.

"One chosen by the Keyblade." My eyes widened a bit.

This Member was a lot different than me. She looked up, not at the floor. And she was smiling. And she looked at _me_.

After that meeting, our fates changes dramatically.

The 7th day after I joined the Organization, I was waiting for Axel to get his 'mission' from the blue-haired guy… Saïx… when I saw the new Member standing near one of the couches, hood still pulled over her face.

"The 14th Member follows Roxas…" I have no idea who behind me had said this. I was distracted. "What's more, they can both use the Keyblade."

"Are we still going to be called Organization XIII now that we have 14 people?" I tried to pay a bit more attention to the conversation since it was just involving me and Number XIV a second ago. I heard the Sitar player ask… Demyx ask.

"Like I'd know?" I heard someone say in reply. Again, my attention was elsewhere now that they weren't talking about me or XIV anymore.

And that's when I got scared. Number XIV stared back at me from under her hood. Some of the other Members may have looked creepy, but they never _acted_ creepy. I felt like running from the room as quickly as the chill that ran down my spine. But I couldn't- not when Number XIV did nothing to me. So I found myself inching behind Axel, hoping that he'd stop XIV if she did try something.

"Oh?" I heard Axel say out of surprise before glaring at me. I didn't care.

"A mission?" It was Axel (I knew his name now, unlike the others' that took a minute to come to me). It was the 8th day since I entered the Organization and… Saïx… was already giving me a 'mission'.

"He cannot sit around staring forever," he said, crossing his arms. At this, I looked up from the floor and looked up at Axel.

"I guess…" he said grudgingly. "But will he really be okay…?" He glanced at me for a second and mumbled "Quit staring" at me. So I turned my attention back to the floor.

"He will accompany you," Saïx said, scribbling something on his list of missions.

"HUH?" Axel cried, clinching his fists.

"The other Members are out on assignments… It's fitting; you're the only one here."

"… They're not all out…" I heard Axel growl as he heard… Demyx… playing his Sitar behind him.

"Guess I have no choice. Let's go, Roxas," Axel said from behind me.

I was busy, though. XIV was in the same spot as yesterday, but facing the other way. Now that she wasn't glaring at me, I was trying to figure things out. Maybe she wasn't trying to look menacing. Maybe she was still zoning out like I still did sometimes.

"What is it?" I heard Axel say behind me. "You're interested in that guy?"

"Hurry up." Saïx.

"Hang on! This is the first time Roxas has been interested in anything," Axel said. "Give us a name, at least." There was a pause. I listened carefully.

"Number 14 is called…" I waited. "Xion."

"Oh right, Xion!" Axel said, grabbing my arm and dragging me away. "Got it memorized? Well, let's go!"

"You weren't listening to Lord Xemnas at all, were you…" Saïx sighed.

"Xion…" I muttered under my breath. Yep, that's what Saïx called her. Xion must have heard me, because the hood swiveled just a bit to look at me as Axel drug me into the smoke.

I didn't know why, but I kept thinking about that person.

"I never know what Xemnas is talking about," Axel said as we appeared in a new place. It was different from the gray-scaled metal castle that I was in for a week. This place was orange, red, green- but mostly orange. The houses, the roads- all composed of orange brick. "…Er, don't tattle on me, okay?" Axel said nervously. "He he he…" I didn't know what he wanted me to say, so I remained silent. "Okay, then," he said awkwardly. "Alright Roxas, your main mission is **heart collection**."

"Heart…?"

"Let's see it," Axel said. "Your Keyblade." I opened my hand. The air glowed until it extended into the shape of the Keyblade. I closed my fist and it was in my hand, the shimmering light around it fading. I looked back at Axel expectantly. "OK. So the only two people in Organization XIII who can do that are you and Xion. Your special." I looked back at my Keyblade. And I thought everyone could do this. I lowered my Keyblade and was scratching my head until Axel spoke up. "Hahaha, are you blushing?" he grinned. What? "That's great! When did you remember how to do that?"

"…" I just stared up at him. I had no idea what he was talking about. But Axel's smile disappeared as he looked far ahead of him.

"Hm?" I looked where he was looking. There was a puff of smoke, like the kind we used to get here, when Axel yelled, "Here's one now, Roxas!"

He never told me what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there, looking like an idiot.

Out of the smoke came three creatures. A pink and green one that looked like a flower and two smaller creatures with spiked yellow hats. Axel's hands got bright. But he just said he couldn't summon the Keyblade…? But instead of white light, it was red, and then two spiked disks appeared in his hands.

"Don't worry," he said, leaping forward at the creatures. I was surprised, to say the least. So much happened in one second, that I stood behind Axel, lifting up my Keyblade a bit. Axel was on them by now, spinning his weapons in his hands and slicing at the first monster.

"A…Axel!" I panicked. He had been cutting the creatures pretty well until one made an attack on him.

"Don't underestimate me," he growled, gritting his teeth. He spun his weapons, sending one of the spiked hat monsters directly at me. "Finish him, Roxas!" I just stood there, spreading my feet apart in case Axel didn't tell me what to do and I had to dodge it. But he did. "Whack him with the Keyblade!"

I jumped forward and swung downward, reducing it to the smoke it appeared from. I landed back on my feet, watching something pink float up into the sky.

"Alright!" Axel cheered.

"…!" I turned, hoping to ask Axel what that was. But before I had time to say anything, he had sent the second monster at me.

"Get him too!" Axel yelled. I did exactly as I did before, just without the surprised expression. And another… something… rose into the air. "Just one more!" he called, sending the flower thing at me. But this one was a little higher up than the rest, so I ducked toward the ground and sprinted towards it. I placed one hand on the ground to help me put more force into my upward swing of the Keyblade.

Then everything went back to how it was when we arrived after the last pink thing floated away. I was breathing a bit harder, but that went away quickly.

"Oww…" Axel said with a smile. One of his weapons disappeared so that he could rest a hand on his hip. "Good job."

"Your hurt…"

"This? Nah, it's nothing," he grinned looking at a burnt spot on the end of his cloak. I looked down at his feet, too. "You understand? Fighting these kinds of guys off with your Keyblade is your job. Think you can do it?"

"…" His grin faded. "Yeah," I said, looking up as his smile returned. "This is nothing."

"Alright!" Axel said loudly, turning towards a building with small steps leading to several glass doors. "Come with me." My expression of determination vanished and was replaced by curiosity. I gave him a questioning look which he didn't see, so I quickly followed behind him, allowing my Keyblade to vanish as his weapons did. "Sit anywhere you want," he said, himself sitting on a foot-high wall on the edge of a balcony.

Axel had taken me to the clock tower. I looked out over the entire city- past the city, on to a forest, and then to a stone wall with a gate and a huge lock. Where I was born.

"It's gonna be hard work from here on out. I hope your ready," he said, digging around in a plastic bag behind him. "Here. A reward for trying so hard." In his out-thrust hand was a stick with a blue rectangle on the end. I took it and sat down as Axel gnawed on his own. "He he. Do you remember the name of this ice cream?"

"…" I stared blankly at the 'ice cream' in my hand. I had no clue.

"I told you before," he said, licking his lips. "Memorize it: 'Sea Salt Ice-Cream'. When I was bringing you to the Organization, we ate it here together," he said. He looked at me expectantly as I licked mine cautiously. "Well, you remember, don't you?"

"…It's salty," I said, grinning at the ice cream, "… but sweet."

"You said the same thing last time," Axel mumbled through a laugh. "It's been a week since you joined the Organization."

"Really…?" I asked, more preoccupied with licking the ice cream.

"Is that all you have to say?" Axel said with a sigh. "Oh well…" he said, taking another bite, "now you're a Member of the Organization." I looked at him carefully as he said, "And you'd better memorize everything from here on out to make up for the week you were spacing out."

This was when I first started remembering things after entering Organization XIII.

"So have you got my name memorized?"

"Access," I replied, taking another lick of my ice cream.

"You did that on purpose!"

So I wanted to make every little thing count… I wanted to remember it all.

* * *

Okay, so the Manga hasn't been updated yet. I'm stuck on chapter 8 because that was the last chapter in the volume. Skip to chapter 9 once it's out and I'll try to tell you what chapter to skip to if you don't want to read what you played in the game. Then again, the Manga is a bit different from the game, but it's still the same gist of things. By the way, the Manga didn't give this one a title, so I thought 'Name and Number' would be pretty appropriate.

One last thing: I try to publish these pretty soon after I write them, but with FanFic's weird, confusing system, I'm not sure how anyone updates or creates stories (XD) And I usually catch on to things pretty quickly! Lol, anyway. So I dread adding new chapters, but I will as soon as possible, as always.


	2. Friends

So, as you can tell, this chapter isn't as long as the last. The chapter sizes will vary according to how much Roxas sees in the Manga and how long the Manga chapter is, too. Oh, and expect several Point of View changes between Roxas and Xion in a few chapters. I already wrote them, so I should know, heh heh (X])

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Friends**_

Defeat 'Heartless' with the 'Keyblade' and collect 'Hearts'. I've been taught that this is my mission.

"You've worked hard, Roxas," I heard someone say from behind me. Marluxia. "You wield the Keyblade perfectly… What wonderful power…"

Once I was properly conscious, I started going on missions with other Members. Today was my 9th day, and Marluxia had been assigned to watch over me during my mission. He was scary in his own way: pink hair that went past his shoulders, always holding a rose to his face. He was just plain weird.

"Aah…" he said, tilting his head back to be overly dramatic. "If only I could have that power for myself…!"

"…?" I just stared at him. I was ready to go back to the castle if the mission was over. Besides, wasn't the Keyblade just another weapon? Why was it so special if two people can wield it? The others have weapons all to themselves. Plus, I wasn't that strong with the Keyblade yet. I could only defeat small heartless like the ones I fought on my first mission: Dire Plants and Operas. This was all so confusing.

"AHEM! *COUGH* *COUGH* Just talking to myself…" Marluxia said, pulling an empty wine glass out of nowhere. He raised it to the sky, sending a shower of flowers on my head that was resting around his shoulders. "A toast to Organization XIII!"

Soon, I found myself back in the Gray Area- the room where Saïx gives out missions- looking through the wall of glass windows. I was looking out on a moon shaped like a heart when I heard Zexion's voice behind me.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked. He wasn't creepy like some of the others- who had now seemed to be less scary. I turned my head to the side to see him. "The 'Hearts' you release are gathering up there. In 'Kingdom Hearts'." I guess he knew that I didn't really get all of this stuff, so explained some of it to me. "Kingdom Hearts…" I turned back towards it. "To complete it and unite with it is the goal of our Organization."

"Unite…?"

"It is the way for we who lack 'Hearts' to become complete beings," he paused.

It seems if I complete 'Kingdom Hearts', I can get a 'heart' of my own.

"In any case, I'm Number 6, Zexion."

Even though it's said they lack 'Hearts', the Members are all very individual.

"Geez, what a pain," Larxene complained. She was assigned to me on my 11th day. "Why do I have to babysit you? I hate kids…" she mumbled. "I'd wondered what the Keyblade user was like… But will you really be good enough? I'm not sure you'll ever complete Kingdom Hearts. Of course, we could get another Keyblade user from somewhere else…"

"There are other Keyblade users apart from me and Xion?" I asked, pretty surprised. Axel had said it was only me and Xion- that's why we were 'special'. Maybe he meant only inside the Organization?

"Ooh, so you can ask questions now?" she said mockingly as she leaned closer, placing a hand on her hip and gripping my face tightly with the other. "Don't try to think too hard. Just hurry up and get some Hearts, okay? (Sorry, there should be a heart here. Fanfic changed it into a 'Y' XD)"

I don't understand what most of the other Members tell me. Everything inside me is like jumbled puzzle pieces.

"Hurry up and become useful, ha ha ha…" Xigbar laughed as I passed by the table he and Luxord were sitting around. I went to get my mission from Saïx on my 12th day when I ran into Vexen.

"It looks like no one has taught you yet, so I'll teach you now," he said frowning, forming more wrinkles across his already decrepit face. "You must move with absolute secrecy on missions!"

We were in Twilight Town soon enough when a Heartless appeared. I was able to kill it, but not without destroying a few things beside a house.

"ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT… DO YOU UNDERSTAND, YOU FOOL?" Vexen cried, leaving me standing in the rubble, dumbfounded. "WE'RE DOING RECONNAISSANCE, NOT TRYING TO GET OUR NAMES IN THE NEWSPAPER!"

"…" I went silent as he continued to shake his finger at me.

"YOUR REPLY IS 'YES SIR', 'UNDERSTOOD'!" he yelled. "REALLY… JUST WHAT HAVE THE OTHERS TAUGHT YOU? MY CREATION HAS FAR BETTER JUDGMENT." Suddenly, a few people poked their heads around the corner, soon forming a large crowd.

"What's all that noise?" one mumbled.

"Oh, no. A fight?" another whispered.

"THIS IS BAD!" Vexen shouted, only drawing more attention.

"I think they found us because you were so noisy, Vexen," I said. He formed a layer of that smoke stuff- a loophole- in the air so that we could leave, grabbing my shoulder with one hand and the back of my head with the other, pushing me inside.

"Address you seniors with respect, idiot!"

We travel through loopholes called 'Corridors of Darkness' to carry out missions in various worlds. They're also a convenient way to hide. I didn't know at the time, but some Members would use Corridors of Darkness to sneak off and have fun during missions.

"That Demyx has gone off somewhere again… It'll be his neck," I heard Xigbar and Zexion discuss one day.

Day 13. Lexaeus was paired up with me. In a one word description, he was BIG. Twice as wide as me and twice my height. He was all muscle. The strange thing was… he never said much. Shy, maybe?

"When in a dilemma, you need composure and good judgment," he said after handing me a two pieces of metal. "You can't solve this puzzle by rushing it." I looked at the metal. One piece shaped liked a heart with another piece shaped like a crown attached to it like a chain. We sat on a bench and began our puzzles. "This will help you strengthen your power."

"Got it," I said, almost interrupting his sentence.

"…Well done," he said, his still stuck together. "If there's anything you want to ask, ask now."

"…We are incomplete being who lack 'Hearts'… The 'Keyblade' releases 'Hearts'… The released 'Hearts' make 'Kingdom Hearts'… We will unite with 'Kingdom Heats' to receive 'Hearts' of our own," I said, repeating everything I'd been told.

"That's right," Lexaeus nodded as he pulled apart his puzzle.

"What's a 'Heart'?" I asked, looking down. I think I dropped my puzzle onto the ground.

"So you've begun to question the things your doing…" he said. He seemed disappointed. "You will understand… When the time comes."

"…That's not an answer," I thought to myself.

"I will tell you just one thing. Everyone in the Organization is eagerly awaiting the results of your work. Having a 'Heart' is like carrying something precious with you."

"…Precious?" I asked myself silently.

I didn't really get it at all… But I could see that his face became passionate.

"Yo, Roxas." Day 14, I turned to see Axel in the Gray Area. "You've got a mission with me today!" he said, thrusting his thumb towards his face. I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my beaming expression. "Hm?"

And soon we were in Twilight Town, killing off Heartless.

"Hey, you've gotten pretty good while I wasn't around!" Axel said, Chakrams in hand as I sent off another heart.

"He he…"

"So, how did you like your missions with the others?" he said since the Heartless were gone for the moment.

"I've learned there are all sorts of different people," I said after thinking a moment.

"Hahaha, that's true," he laughed.

"Oh yeah. I've learned that you're a really great guy, Axel."

"Huh?" he said. He seemed surprised, like he didn't believe I was serious. Like I was making fun of him.

"You looked after me when I was all spaced out. None of the others wanted to…"

"That was…" he paused, scratching the side of his head. "Well… I had orders…" He trailed off just as I heard laughing behind us.

"Huh?" I said, looking over my shoulder. I leaned against a wall a glanced over the corner to stay hidden while still seeing who was making the noise. Two kids who looked about the same age as me ran past, yelling,

"Hurry up, Pence!"

"Wait up!" I heard someone from farther away call.

"What is it?" Axel asked.

"We… We have to hide!" I whispered, pointing towards the kids. "Vexen told me 'missions are a secret'."

"Well… That guy's way too sneaky," Axel sighed as I peered around the corner now that the children were past us.

"Last one there buys the ice cream!" a boy with messy blond hair and camouflage pants called back to the others.

"Wait… What!" a girl with spiky brown hair cried.

"No fair, Hayner!" the kid behind them all yelled.

"Want to eat ice cream, too?" Axel asked after the laughter had faded.

"What for?" I said, walking away from the wall I was leaning against since I didn't have to hide anymore.

"Why? Well that's…" he paused, touching a finger to his chin. "Because we're friends."

"Friends…?"

"We eat ice cream together, talk and laugh together… you know. Like those guys," he said, pointing at the kids near the ice cream stand that had just ran by.

"Hurry and get your wallet," the blond kid- Hayner, they called him- laughed as he ate his ice cream.

"You guys are so mean!" yelled the boy who was running in the back-they called him Pence.

"Hmm…" I paused, watching 'Hayner' put 'Pence' in a headlock.

"Here," said the old woman selling ice cream as she handed the bag to Axel. "If you get a 'winner', you get a free one!"

"Hehe, thanks," Axel laughed after he gave her the money. I wonder if the woman thought we looked strange in our uniform, considering what the people wore in Twilight Town.

"Don't we have to get back and report?" I asked Axel as he headed toward the clock tower.

"We're just spending some time with friends on the way," he said, grinning over his shoulder and lifting up the bag.

"And the two of us are friends?" I asked. He stopped walking and turned to face me as I stared up at him, waiting. He stared back at me dully before a grin spread across his face again.

"Yeah, that's right." And once again, we had our feet dangling over Twilight Town at least a half mile bellow, licking and biting at our salty- sweet ice cream. "It's not bad, right? Eating ice cream here after missions. Better than just going back and forth from the castle."

Friends. I wonder if I'd understand the true meaning of that, if I had a 'Heart'. Wielding the Keyblade brings me closer to the answer. I decided that's what I would fight for.

After that, eating ice cream there became 'fun'. Then, some days later-

"Eh?"

"I'm leaving for Castle Oblivion tomorrow."

"Castle Oblivion…?"

"It's like a second headquarters for the Organization. It's a business trip," he explained as he took a bite of ice cream. It sounded like he would be gone for a long time.

"Oh…" I sighed.

"Yeah. I won't be eating this ice cream for a while," Axel said, looking down at the ice cream as if that would make it last longer. I tried to take a bite of mine, but something made my vision blurry until I blinked my eyes really hard. Then I could see, but the edges of my mouth were curving down so sharply, I gave up on eating my ice cream for the present.

"What's with the face?" Axel commented. "I'll be back soon, so don't worry." Worry? What was 'worry'? Oh well, he said he'd be back soon. That was enough to bring the corners of my mouth up enough to take the ice cream out of my mouth. "Not that you can without a heart, ha ha," Axel laughed. Oh. One of these 'emotions' I couldn't have until I completed Kingdom Hearts. But why would I want emotions if I would feel bad stuff? "Right, I have preparations to make. I'm heading back. Today was my treat. See ya."

"Yeah…" I stared at the black smoke left behind from the Dark Corridor he used to leave. Even if I didn't have a heart, I think I felt something. Sort of like the times I frowned or smiled, I could tell how I should feel even though I couldn't feel it. And right then, I got a faint hint at what I should have felt. And whatever it was called, it would have stung. Maybe because Axel was my 'friend'. Either way, I blocked it out. I didn't want a feeling that bad showing on my face.

* * *

By the way, I'm going to make him 'feel' a lot more often in the later chapters, and there's going to be a small surprise! That's when I start changing a few things. And when we get into the Roxas x Xion stuff a little deeper. Oh, and I apologize for the unnecessary details in the story, but I like describing things and seeing a vivid picture, too.


	3. Xion

Yay! Look at the title! … Now celebrate with me! Woot! Haha, you can already tell it's getting a bit Roxas x Xion now. If you squint really hard, you can see it… Maybe. (X])

The changes are coming! Just wait!

Oh, and if you didn't already know, it is Square Enix, not me (*cries*) who owns Kingdom Hearts… (u_u)

* * *

**_Sanctuary_**

**_Xion_**

'The following have been assigned to Castle Oblivion

No. 4 Vexen

No. 5 Lexaeus

No. 6 Zexion

No. 8 Axel

No. 11 Marluxia

No. 12 Larxene'

That was what the page taped to the window in the Gray Area said. Axel…

"Looks like we'll have less friends to play with," Luxord said from the couch behind me. "How are you at Poker, Number 13?" I blinked in surprise. What was 'Poker'? I turned on my heel, about to ask when Xigbar interrupted my thoughts.

"He'll be eaten alive," he said, half laughing.

The castle was pretty quiet, with half the Members off on a mission elsewhere.

"It would've been nice if he'd gone to Castle Oblivion, too," Xigbar said, glaring at Demyx. He was playing his Sitar loudly on one of the couches around the only other table in the Gray Area. "Shut up," Xigbar said under his breath. Before I knew it, I was sitting down too, with a handful of Luxord's cards and playing 'Poker'. The music suddenly stopped. I turned in time to see Saïx hit Demyx's head with his hard plastic clipboard that held the mission list.

"Everyone," Saïx announced. "We're a bit shorthanded so I'm putting you to work right away."

"What was that for-" Demyx muttered, rubbing his head before Saïx began again.

"Roxas," I paid a bit more attention after hearing my name mentioned. "You'll be working with Xion today." Xion. I had been so preoccupied with missions and Axel's absence that I had forgotten about the silent hooded XIV. I looked at where Xion usually stood. She was in the same place as usual, but today Xion wasn't smiling in the bit of light that reached her mouth or staring at me in the shade of the cloak's hood. The light making it's way to Number XIV's straight line of a mouth, Xion was staring solemnly at the floor. Just like I used to do. Maybe Xion didn't like the idea of going on a mission. Or maybe just a mission with me.

"So Xion, is today your first mission?" I asked, trying to start a conversation. After all, today was my 23rd day, while Xion was still new. I was supposed to seem like I knew enough to teach her. Axel taught me first, and he made things easier by talking me through things. I just needed to get Xion to talk, right?

"…" So much for talking.

"… Well, anyway. Let's go!" I shouted, seeing a few Heartless. I summoned my Keyblade and leapt into the air, about to swing when I saw a bright light. I was more than surprised when I saw Xion shooting fire at the Heartless.

"I heard she could use a Keyblade too, but… Was that wrong?" I thought to myself. I was distracted, but that didn't stop me from flying through the air towards the Heartless. I meant to slash the Opera with my Keyblade, but I thought I was going to tackle it to death. I swung the blade just in time to hit a cloud of smoke instead.

"Phew," I sighed after a few hours of destroying Heartless. "I think that's our quota for today…" I wiped the sweat from my forehead and dismissed my Keyblade, my breathing quickly becoming steady again.

"…" Xion opened a Corridor of Darkness and was standing in front of it, slowly moving towards it, hood still facing me.

"…Ah …Well," I said, rubbing my head awkwardly. "See you… Later…" And she was gone. Soon I was on the clock tower by myself, eating ice cream by myself. "That was hard work… I wonder if Axel will be back soon," I thought, sighing and biting down. It suddenly seemed more salty than sweet.

"These guys are such a pain!" I yelled, slicing a Shadow in half the next day- day 24. They didn't even release a single heart! "I think that's all," I sighed, Xion and I surrounded by smoke.

"…"

"Err, umm… well," I said, rubbing a finger against my chin. "I guess I'll… see you…" I turned and began my way to the clock tower.

"Roxas." I froze, my eyes widening. "Can I… call you Roxas…?"

"…Eh?" I looked at Xion. "Ah, yeah. Sure." I think my face did something weird. What Axel said that I did when he told me that Xion and I were special. She turned and walked into the Dark Corridor, the hood still facing me over her shoulder until she disappeared. "So… She can talk after all."

"Did something good happen?" Demyx asked me the next day. Day 25. He even stopped playing his Sitar. I must have looked really happy.

"Hm?" I asked as I froze in my tracks.

"You're looking pretty cheerful," he commented.

"I… I am…?" I stuttered, scratching the side of my head. Luckily I didn't have to explain myself, because Demyx was already back to playing another song.

"Good morning, Roxas." Xion. I turned to see the familiar hood, but I didn't see it anywhere. Instead I saw a girl with black hair that reached her chin, bangs pulled to the side and just touching her light blue eyes. "Let's work hard again today," she said, smiling.

"Xion…?" I made that weird face again.

"She… talked," Demyx said, eyes almost as wide as mine.

Somehow, Xion was like a totally different person. Without her hood, Xion was just like a normal girl… and she seemed somehow familiar.

"Today's mission," I said once we had stepped through the Dark Corridor and into Twilight Town, unfolding the slip of paper Saïx gave me. "Is to defeat the 'Darkside'. Wonder what that could be…" I said, turning to face the other way, glancing around town.

"I think that's it there," Xion said after a moment. I turned to look where she was facing, seeing a huge Heartless- four times my or Xion's height. It had several long tentacles around it's face, as well as two thin wings- as if it could fly. It was pretty creepy- I didn't think the other Members were scary anymore, just weird. But this actually was creepy. It had a heart-shaped hole where it's stomach should be. And it felt really familiar- even without a heart.

"IT'S HUGE! How can we…"

"If the two of us concentrate our attacks we can beat it!" Xion encouraged, already heading towards the thing. She was jogging to the side with her head turned over her shoulder to keep me in view. "Let's go!"

"…" I was definitely surprised by her enthusiasm. I think she noticed how I was still frozen in place.

"Hm?" she asked, already about to charge.

"Nah, it's nothing!" I grinned. I guess her confidence was spreading to me.

We charged. Xion blasted the Darkside with magic attacks while I stayed a bit closer to slice at it's head with my Keyblade. We dodged and attacked until I heard Xion say,

"Just a little more, Roxas!"

"Aah-" I managed to reply while trying to dodge the Heartless's fist. Well, I tried. It's fist wrapped around me entirely with the exception of my head and arms. The force of the impact loosening my grip, the Keyblade flew from my hands and landed behind Xion. "Ah… Xion! Toss it!" I yelled, waving my arms a bit.

"Oh!" she cried, turning to pick it up as quickly as she could. But before her hand could reach it, the Keyblade disappeared. Then her hand began to glow, the Keyblade reappearing in it. "! Huh!" She stared at it for a second, then turned to face the monster.

"Xion!" But just as she was about to throw it to me, the fist closed around me.

"!"

"Ack," I cried, suddenly hitting the ground. And a few feet in front of me stood Xion, positioned as if to charge. And behind her, a huge cloud of smoke as well as a huge heart drifting into space. Did Xion really stab and kill the Darkside with my Keyblade? "… Ah!" And suddenly, the Keyblade shimmered away from Xion and reappeared in my hand.

"…"

"… That surprised me," I said nervously.

"Me too," Xion said, looking down as a bead of sweat fell from her face.

"Huh?" I asked, surprised that she didn't even know what happened.

"Heh," she grinned, putting a finger in front of her mouth to hide the smile. And soon the air was filled with out laughter.

"Here," I said.

"What's this?"

"A reward for doing a good job."

"A reward…?" she asked slowly.

"Try it," I said, biting into my ice cream. She cautiously took a small bite of her's, too.

"How do you like it?" I asked after she had swallowed.

"It's sweet… but salty," she said, staring at the ice cream in her hand.

"But it's good, right?" I asked, taking another bite of mine.

"Um…" she took a bigger bite to see if she like it or not.

"Axel likes this stuff. It's called Sea Salt ice cream," I told her, still eating on mine. "Axel gave one to me after my first mission. He said it was a reward."

"You guys are so close," Xion laughed.

"Wha!" I asked. "… Yeah," I said, grinning. "Axel is my friend. After missions we always come here and eat ice cream, and talk about stupid stuff," I laughed.

"That sounds nice… I wonder if I could be your friend…" she said as I ate the last of my ice cream, her's half finished.

"Yeah, we can all eat ice cream together," I said, staring at the sky, then back at the ice cream stick. "Huh? It says 'Winner'!" Xion gave me a questioning look. "If you take it back to the store, they'll give you another. I can't wait for Axel to get back so we can show if off."

"He he he" Xion laughed, eating the rest of her ice cream, too.

I couldn't wait for all of us to eat ice cream together. I wondered what Axel would think of Xion becoming our friend.

"Are you sure?" Demyx cried as I entered the Gray Area on day 26.

"I'm positive, I heard it myself!" Xigbar replied.

"Is something up?" I asked.

"Craaaaaap!" Demyx said, fists against his hips.

"Nice language," Xigbar chuckled under his breath. I was still without an answer, so Xigbar turned and faced me, saying, "They're saying that all the guys that went to Castle Oblivion were wiped out."

"… Wiped out?" What did that mean?

"I'm glad I didn't have to go," Demyx shuddered.

"I wish you had gone." Xigbar sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "Seriously," he said under his breath.

"What do you mean 'wiped out'?" I asked. They froze.

"Well to be wiped out is to… Well, kid…" Xigbar rambled before Demyx cut him off.

"Wait-wait-wait, that's a bit much old man!"

"Who are you saying is old!" Xigbar said, grabbing Demyx by the hair and pushing him to the ground, making his back bend the wrong way.

"Aarghh-" he cried as Saïx entered the room.

"What are you doing over there?" he called into the corner they were in. Xigbar repositioned and released Demyx's hair, grabbing his arms to pull him back instead.

"What happened at Castle Oblivion?" I cried, running towards Saïx. "What does it mean that they were… wiped out?"

"We don't know. We are investigating," he replied as I stopped a few feet in front of him. Why would no one tell me a straight answer?

"And… What about Axel!" I asked. A bead of nervous sweat ran down my face as I stared at Saïx, still waiting for an answer.

"We've heard from the Dusks that they were all destroyed." I couldn't help but remember when Axel and I laughed over ice cream at the top of the clock tower. "In any case, your mission today will be with Xigbar."

"My! How heartless," Xigbar commented with a grin, crossing his arms. "Come on, come on, it's mission time, kid." I was frozen in place as I felt my throat get tight.

* * *

Aww! But it's OK Roxas! You can hang out with Xion in the mean time! (X3)

Yeah, so I'm still waiting on OneManga to release the next volume in translated English… (0_0) I'm so bored, waiting for Square Enix and OneManga to release it. I think I'm dying. (XnX) Just kidding! I'm pretty busy animating stuff. Yay, pictures that move!

Changes will be made once I get to the part just before Xion attacks Roxas. I'll tell you what chapter that is once chapter 9 is out because then I might see the point where I change stuff! Yay!


	4. Something Wrong

Ok, so I'm still alive. I've been reading Yu Yu Hakusho on OneManga and watching Dragon Ball Z on Nick waiting for a KH update. (X]) By the way, as I post this 358/2 Days is still only published up to chapter 8 (-_-). I was trying to hold out a while, but… So much for that! (^u^)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Something Wrong**_

"Phew-! This world is painfully hot…" Xigbar said, glancing up at the blinding sun as I slowly exited the Corridor of Darkness after him. "Let's get this over with before my armpits get too sweaty."

He turned to look back at me, suddenly pulling out his Arrowguns and firing right beside me. I saw the smoke of a dead Heartless swirl to my right.

"Ugh, stop spacing out," he sighed, turning back around to begin our recon mission.

"… Hey." He turned back to face me. "Wiped out… means they've disappeared, doesn't it?" I said, looking at the trail of smoke still floating beside me. "They're saying that all the guys that went to Castle Oblivion were wiped out," I remember Xigbar saying. "We've heard from the Dusks that they were all destroyed," Saïx had said. I finally pieced it all together. My eyes got blurry again until I blinked enough times to make it go away.

"Yeah. They've been erased… nothing's left," he sighed, a frown making his crooked scar more jagged.

"So… we won't be able to see them again?" I asked, the image of Axel and I on the clock tower returning.

"Something wrong?" he said, frowning. "Half our Members were wiped out in a snap. But that's no problem when we've got you and Poppet."

"Poppet?" I asked, completely clueless.

"I'm talking about Xion, kid," he sighed.

"Why…" I began to think, but let it drop.

"Right now she's collecting hearts all by herself. You'd better work hard, too. Since you're a Keyblade wielder, too."

'Something wrong?' Xigbar looked at me with such cold eyes.

"Hey!" he yelled as a Heartless sped by. I quickly disposed of it. My Keyblade sliced it into perfect halves, sending a heart and smoke into the sky. "Concentrate, boy!" he growled.

"Sorry…" I mumbled, looking down at the hot sand that held my shadow.

There was… something wrong. With my friend.

"Uhg!" I cried, pain shooting through my skull. I found myself picturing people I knew well. But I swear I'd never met before in my life. "Wh-what… Uhhhg… My head…" My fingers curled tighter around my Keyblade out of pain, hoping to hold onto something real as images of sand, trees and water went through my head. And people. A laughing girl with short red hair. And guy with spiked white hair that reached past his shoulders, wearing black and yellow, grinning at me.

"Hey!" I heard Xigbar say. He sounded really far away, but I knew he was standing right beside me when this started. "What's wrong, boy!"

"What… What is…" I tried to figure out an answer, but my head seemed foggier than the day I was born. I felt the hot sand suddenly against my face, just before everything faded to black.

"It's been six days since you've come here," I heard someone say. I was suddenly walking beside the ocean at night, the moon shining brightly between the limbs of a few dead trees. I paused, turning my hooded face to see the person who was talking. It was someone sitting one of the many boulders nearby wearing the Organization cloak with their hood up, like me. "It's time," he said, standing. "Sora-"

"Sora? I'm not Sora. Who are you-"

"My name is-" And everything vanished as quickly as it appeared.

* * *

Oh, this is funny, I just thought I should mention it: In the manga, when Xigbar called Xion 'Poppet', it was translated into 'Puu-chan'. (X3) (I like it just as much as Poppet, myself!) Alright, so whenever I get bored I'll post the next chapter. (^_^) I'm trying to wait a while because I'm getting so close to chapter 8 now, but I'm not so sure that'll work anymore… They're taking a while to update the manga. (X]) Well, I'll post when I post! The next chapter let's you see from Xion's point of view quite a bit! And so sorry for the shortness!


	5. Ocean of Memory

This is almost entirely in Xion's point of view! Yay! (^u^) So I'll talk more at the end since it's been a while since I've updated.

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Ocean of Memory**_

**Xion's Point of View**

(Roxas's 26th Day)

"… Roxas…? I guess he isn't coming today…" I sighed, finishing my ice cream. It suddenly seemed more salty than sweet. "I wonder what happened," I thought to myself sadly. I began my walk down the hall to reach my room when something caught my eye. "That's Lord Xemnas…! What was he doing in Roxas's room…?" I thought, Xemnas taking no notice of me. "The door was left open… I wonder if it's alright to take a look…"

I leaned around the edge of the door, caught off guard by what I saw. "Roxas!" I yelped. He was asleep in his bed, but his bangs were tied up by three bows, his eyelids drawn on with marker so that it looked like his eyes were open.

(Roxas's 27th Day)

"Roxas's face was covered in scribbles, huh?" Xigbar said with a grin, sipping the hot liquid in his cup. "It must be the Dusks' doing."

"I thought it might have been Lord Xemnas doing it…" I said quietly.

"Bwahah! That's a laugh!" Demyx said loudly, doubling over his Sitar.

"Hahaha," Luxord chimed in.

"Um," I timidly interrupted, "Roxas hasn't been waking up at all… Is he in bad condition…?" I was very grateful that I had decided to wear my hood up that day.

"What's that, you worried, Poppet? Haha," Xigbar chuckled.

"Poppet?" Demyx questioned.

"You there!" Saïx called, pointing at Demyx. "How long are you taking a break? Hurry back to your missions."

"Yeah, yeah," Demyx sighed, quickly running from the room.

(Roxas's 28th Day)

"There's more…" I sighed, looking at Roxas. The Dusks added eyelashes to the drawn-on eyes and lines on his forehead to look like wrinkles, a circle around his mouth to look like a beard and marks connecting his eyebrows.

"Ah…" I sighed, placing the bows in his hair on the edge of the bed. I also put the washcloth back into the small wooden bucket of water that sat on the table near his bed, ruined with ink. "There we go, that's the rest. Hmm… Anyhow, I don't think it'll happen again." I heard whistling behind me. I turned towards the door behind me, seeing Demyx walking away with his hands folded behind his head. _So_ inconspicuous.

I heard another noise, turning to see the Dusks heads poking their heads out of their Corridors above Roxas. "Those guys!" I yelled, my hands forming fists on the bed sheets. At least I scared them away.

I sighed, looking back at Roxas. "You won't wake up at all…" I thought sadly. "I wonder when you'll open your eyes…"

**Roxas's Point of View**

I was floating… in water.

"Sora…"

My head surfaced.

"Someone is calling…" I mumbled.

**Xion's Point of View**

(Roxas's 29th Day)

"AH!" I screamed, running up to the bed. Roxas had a square marker mustache and thick marker eyebrows, a huge plastic nose attached to a pair of glasses, his bangs combed down around either side of his face. "There's more… more!" I cried, shaking my hooded head.

"So it's like we said, huh?" I heard Demyx say from behind me.

(Roxas's 30th Day)

"Hey," Saïx said, entering Roxas's room and looking at Demyx who was sitting at the end of the bed. "How long have you been cutting work here?"

"Eheh…" Demyx laughed nervously, lowering his magazine and setting down his bag of potato chips.

"Alright… I'll give you a lecture," he said grimly. "You should be on a mission too, Xion," he said after he had grabbed Demyx by the ear, already back at the door. I looked down at his feet, my hood shielding my face from view. "The Dusks will take care of the body over there. It's necessary to leave Roxas alone while he's sleeping."

"… I don't understand," I said. I needed a reason before I let the Dusks mess with Roxas while 'taking care of him'. He didn't reply, so I let it drop. "… But how many days have passed already…? What happened to Roxas? When will he wake up?"

"It has nothing to do with you," he said grimly, looking down at me. "It doesn't make any difference if you are by his side or not. Get back to work," he said, forming a Dark Corridor for me.

I was very grateful that I had my hood up again that day.

"I… Saïx is hard to deal with," I thought sadly as I stepped out of the Corridor. I was alone on a beach, so I removed my hood. "How is my existence…?" I squatted down on the sand to look at the crab that was eying my curiously. "This crab… No." I turned my attention to the waves lapping at beach, uncovering shells and bringing up new ones. "Is it something like this seashell?" I wondered, picking it out of the sand. It was pretty, blue and pink blended together with a yellow star-shaped tip. I smiled.

For the first time in a while.

"I investigated a new world on today's mission," I said, smiling down at Roxas. The Dusks had dressed his face to look like Xigbar. They gave him an eye patch and a marker scar with three marker stitches. They added a section on his face for lines to look like a cheekbone protruding from a sunken cheek, as well as one huge curl of hair. He was still sleeping, but I talked in case he was listening during his rest. And for my own sake, too. "There was a very beautiful ocean… Let's go together sometime."

I dipped the cloth into the bucket of water on the table, also where I set the seashell I took from the beach. I took the moist cloth and began to gently rub away the marker. I frowned and rubbed harder. I think I left his face a bit red before I realized that the Dusks used a new marker. A more permanent marker. "It's oily!"

I missed Roxas.

* * *

Sorry again about the shortness of the last chapter. And I have absolutely no idea if the Kingdom Hearts on OneManga will actually be updated during this _year_ (just kidding, but still… =_=). So I will now search for a new site with the KH manga on Yahoo! Yay! Sorry OneManga, but I give up on you for this (X]).


	6. Morning Elixir

I'm so saaaad! So I figured out that it wasn't OneManga's fault, it was Square Enix's slowness! I'm so sorry I forsook you OneManga! (X]) Hah, anyway, this only makes me sad because that means that I have no choice but to wait. So I'll post the chapter where I start changing things with a "x" in the title. The reason being: I will skip the missing manga chapters and post where I start changing things. Then I'll go back and post the manga chapters that I skipped. So there you go! But as I post this, I already have manga chapters one through eight finished, so I'll finish posting them before posting my real FanFic ones.

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Morning Elixir**_

"Is it alright to sleep here? It might take some time, but… It's so your original memories return properly."

"Is this a dream…?" I thought to myself.

"Goodnight, Sora," I heard a female voice tell me.

"Sora?" I replied. "That's not right, my name is…"

And then I woke up. I was in my room. In my bed. I sat upright.

"My head feels heavy…" I thought to myself, holding the side of my head and trying to lessen the pain in my head. "What's this?" I said out of surprise. "These seashells…" They covered the entire surface of the bed with the exception of where I was just laying. They formed a perfect outline of the position I was in while sleeping. But why? "I'm starving," I sighed loudly, walking into the Gray Area.

'**Notice of Member Annihilation**

A few days ago all of the Members

sent to Castle Oblivion were

annihilated unexpectedly.

Let's all be more careful.

Since we are in the middle of

investigating the details,

we will report immediately

once the details are understood.'

I read the note that was taped to the window where Saïx usually stood. I stared at it a bit longer until I heard a voice behind me.

"So you woke up, kupo?" Moogle. "How about one for waking up, kupo? This one's close to it's expiration date, so I'll make it cheep, kupo." He held out a small bottle to me. I took the Elixir and drank it. After all, I was thirsty, too. "It's hard to believe all the Members that went to Castle Oblivion were toasted, huh? …Kupo. People go, but that's business, kupo." I looked at the floor, feeling the knot return to my throat. "Recycle the bottle and get 5 Munny cash back, kupo!" After such a good night's sleep, I had forgotten about Castle Oblivion for the time being, and Moogle had to remind me.

Even though it was probably better if it was all a dream… I thought if I went to the lobby, I might meet him as usual.

"Yo Roxas," I could hear him say, the sound echoing hollowly in my head, the image of him grinning fading quickly into nothingness. I angrily tossed the bottle back at Moogle, hitting his Organization-hooded forehead.

I went to the clock tower.

My head was pounding and I didn't want to think about anything. How could Axel be annihilated…

I shut my eyes tightly, but they popped back open quickly.

"Roxas?" I turned to see Xion's beaming smile. "You woke up today!"

"Xion…"

"Finally!" she said excitedly, leaning closer before sitting on the ledge beside me. "Since I asked Saïx when would you wake up and he said he didn't know, I was wondering what I would do in the meantime." What was she talking about?

"But what happened to me?" I asked, pushing my palm against my eye, hoping to pinpoint the worst pain. "I lost consciousness during a mission…" I remembered Xigbar saying something like, "What happened, kiddo?" and that was it until I woke up that morning.

"You were sleeping the whole time," Xion explained. "For probably about 3 weeks."

"THAT LONG!" I cried. "No wonder I was starving…"

"Ha ha ha. The Dusks were supposed to look after you, but…" she paused. "There wasn't something odd, was there?"

"Um… Now that you mention it, there were a bunch of seashells placed on my bed," I replied. But why would the Dusks bring me shells?

"That was me!" Xion laughed, holding out another shell. This one filled up her entire palm. "Here, take this one! I found a beautiful ocean during a mission and I'd pick up a few whenever I went. Try putting it to your ear!"

I did as she asked, holding the shell up to my ear. It sounded like the waves of the ocean. Wait, I had never been to the ocean, so why did I know that? Despite this, I saw a beach, heard the waves. There were wooden boats tied to a dock, a bridge crossing over a bit of the water to a smaller island than the one I was 'on'. Then I saw a star-shaped fruit growing in the trees- Paopu fruit. How did I know this?

And then I saw them again.

The guy with the long white hair, and the girl with the red hair, standing beside one another. And then it was just the red-haired girl. I saw her waving. She looked only a foot away from me. I opened my eyes, not even realizing that they were closed. The image of the red-head vanished and was replaced by Xion, waiting for my response. I blinked. Hard.

That girl… She looked exactly like Xion except for three differences. Two insignificant changes- her clothes were different, and her bangs were pushed above her left eye instead of her right like Xion. And the only real change being- her hair was red, whereas Xion's was black.

Other than that, they might as well have been the same person.

"How was it?" Xion asked suddenly, breaking my train of thought. I stared at her eyes, the same light blue eyes as the other girl. She had Xion's smile, too. "Could you hear it? The sound of waves?" I listened again, making sure not to let my eyes close for one second. I didn't want to see those people. The people that I knew and never met. The people that acted like they were my friends.

But they weren't my friends. Xion and Axel were my friends.

"… This is the sound of stagnant air," I said plainly, Xion giving me an incredulous, shocked look.

"It's the sound of the ocean!" I heard someone say faintly.

"What was that just now?" I thought to myself. Even without closing my eyes, Twilight Town disappeared in a split second, replaced by a small island. The island I was just 'on'.

The scenery I hadn't seen before. But somehow it was extremely familiar.

Why did I know what I saw so well, never having seen it before in my life? Why was I seeing things like this at all?

And soon I was back in my bed. I lay awake, staring at the ceiling.

My head was still fuzzy, but it felt like it cleared up a little.

"That girl…" I thought, staring at Xion's shells strewn across my bed as I fell asleep. "She resembled Xion…"

But when I got up again the next day… I went back to being hazy.

I stood in the Gray Area, staring at the note on the window on day 51. Notice of Member Annihilation. The same one that I read the previous day. Xigbar suddenly ripped the page from the window, wadding in up in his hand while I was still re-reading it.

"They're gone! Even if we cared about them, there's nothing we can do about it, right?" I sighed.

I still have to go out on missions, though my body feels sluggish.

I began to drag myself along Twilight Town when a few voices caught my attention.

"I'm gonna buy an ice cream!"

"Oh, me too!"

"Me too!"

Those kids ran up to the old woman selling Sea Salt ice cream.

"I'd like three ice creams, please!" the blond kid said.

"Alright! If you get a 'Winner' stick, you can have another one!"

"Got it!"

"Those guys eat ice cream, too? What's up with that? Well for us, it's because we're friends!" Axel had said something like that to me when those kids were getting ice cream before us one day.

While I was distracted, a Possessor tackled me, making me breathe the toxic fumes it was composed of. I fell on the brick road, surrounded by a circle of Possessors. I quickly climbed to my knees, holding out my hand.

"The Keyblade!" I slashed away, leaving behind smoke that quickly dissipated.

"Annihilation… This is what it means to disappear. Yeah. To disappear… After this there will be nothing left." Xigbar and I had a conversation something like that. I couldn't help but remember this as I killed the Heartless that didn't send hearts up to Kingdom Hearts. They left nothing behind.

A Possessor landed on my head from behind me. I was pushed towards the ground, suddenly weak from it's fumes. And then it vanished into smoke, as if it were killed. I caught myself in mid-fall, placing my hands on my knees.

"Huff, huff," I panted, sucking in clean air.

"That was really close, Roxas!" I turned around sharply.

"Ah…" He didn't even give me enough time to say his name.

"Yo," he grinned, flaming Chakrams in hand.

"Axel…!" I fell on my hands and knees, jabbing my Keyblade in his direction, shivering.

"What's the matter? You got your own back?" he said with a dull, yet surprised, expression. I quickly stood and dismissed my Keyblade.

"But… I heard everyone who went to Castle Oblivion was annihilated…"

"Hey now! You really thought I was annihilated? Don't be stupid! I told you not to worry, I'd be back soon!" he yelled, flicking his finger against my forehead.

I touched my forehead with my hand. Still, I was grinning widely.

"I'll buy you an ice cream!" I yelled, sprinting to the stand.

"The Dusks reports were half-assessed," Axel said once we were on the clock tower. He took a bite out of his ice cream. "Heh, I haven't had this in a while."

"I ate some here with Xion while you were gone," I said, smiling.

"Xion? Ohh… The 14th Member..."

"Yeah. We went on a mission together and on the way back…"

"Oho," Axel said before I could finish.

"I promised her that the three of us would eat ice cream together when you came back." Axel made a weird noise, like 'pft'. "Was that bad?"

"Nah, it's cool," he laughed. "What were you gonna do without me? Heheh." I smiled up at the sky.

"I wonder if Xion isn't coming today," I said, my smile fading for a second. But my smile soon returned.

Xion didn't come to the clock tower. But Axel came back, so now the three of us can eat ice cream whenever. The fogginess in my head was clearing up completely.

"Oh man, right back to work after a special mission," Axel grumbled sleepily, dragging himself out of the Corridor after me the next day. Day 52. "That guy's appreciation was just talk."

"You wanna drink an Elixir?" I offered, pulling it from a pocket. "It was on a special sale, but…"

"Ah, thanks…" he sighed, taking it from me. "This is past the expiration date!" I heard him mumble, but I had no time for apologies.

"Ah!" I summoned my Keyblade as I saw the two Operas and the Watcher appear.

"They've come!" Axel said, swallowing the Elixir quickly.

"Yeah," I nodded, gripping my Keyblade tighter.

"Alright!" he said behind me, throwing the empty bottle on the ground. "Let's go, partner!" he said with a grin, summoning his Chakrams.

"Okay," I nodded, smiling as we charged. I glanced over my shoulder at the clock tower before I attacked the Heartless and thought, "I wonder if Xion will come today…"

**Xion's Point of View**

I sprinted away from the Bad Dogs in Beast's Castle. I glared at my hand. It glowed slightly, then the light faded again. I angrily jumped and turned in midair, casting a spell to hold off the Dogs for the moment. They turned into smoke, sending no hearts away. Of course not. I didn't use the Keyblade. I rested for the moment, breathing hard and hoping more Heartless didn't show up. My life was in danger. I felt my throat get tight

"Why…? Why won't the Keyblade come?"

**Roxas's Point of View**

"Fight fight fight, Roxas!" Axel cheered behind me as I killed off the last Heartless.

"Heheh," I laughed, surrounded in fading black smoke and pink hearts ascending to Kingdom Hearts.

"Wait up!"

"Hurry!"

Those kids were back buying ice cream.

"Finally the three of us can eat ice cream together…" I thought, grinning at the sky with my Keyblade across my shoulder. I doubt any Nobody could ever be as happy as I was right then.

Well, maybe with the exception of Axel and Xion.

* * *

Yeah, this chappie is a bit longer than the last few, so yay! Oh, and going back to the topic at the top, the chapter marked with the "x" is the chapter where I break away from the story. Which means that I'll post a LOT slower. So, sorry. (,^u^) *Sweats*


	7. The Keyblade Weilder Blues

_**Sanctuary**_

_**The Keyblade Wielder Blues**_

"It seems the heart collection rates are down," Saïx said, glancing at a piece of paper in his hand.

Organization Member Number 7, Saïx. He's in charge of establishing the collection quota including the Members sent out for mission support.

"You should be going into missions aware of this goal," he said plainly.

"Are you saying that I've been slacking off?" I shouted angrily.

"Can't say you've been giving it your all."

The most argumentative and sarcastic guy in the Organization.

"Eh?"

"Collecting hearts is the only mission you who wield the Keyblade can handle. In other words, it's the only method of collecting hearts," he said, looking down at me. "Your achievements won't be acknowledged working within the quota. Understand?"

It always felt like my head was being pushed down when I talked to this guy. Even right then.

"I can't believe that Saïx guy!" I yelled, slicing at the Loudmouths and Operas in Agrabah. "Since I can't complain, I'm taking it out on these guys!" I yelled, slashing wildly until they were all gone. "Huff! Huff! Huff!" It was more like growling than panting.

"Hahaha, that's the spirit!" Axel cheered from behind me as I calmed down.

"But it's kinda strange…" I thought as several hearts floated into the air. "Though you'd think more could be collected… I wonder if something was said to Xion, too…"

**Xion's Point of View**

"Argh. Argh. Argh." I sat on the edge of my bed, looking at my palm. It wouldn't even glow anymore. I curled my arms around my knees, resting my forehead. "What am I going to do? It won't come. The Keyblade won't come to me. I need the Keyblade to defeat the Heartless. I can't achieve the quota without it." I was about to cry, even without a heart. "Maybe I should try asking Roxas about it…" I thought, looking sadly out of my window at Kingdom Hearts.

**Roxas's Point of View**

"Xion didn't come to the clock tower today… She probably was busy on a mission…" I thought as I stepped out of my Dark Corridor and walked down the hall towards my room. Axel stepped out of the Corridor behind me.

"Hey! You heading to the bath? Breaking a sweat feels gross."

"Yeah! I was just getting a change of clothes!" I ran into my room and snatched up another set of the uniform. "If I run into Xion tomorrow morning, I'll have to tell her Axel's back!" I thought, running back down the hall. "Bath time, bath time! ¯"

**Xion's Point of View**

"Is Roxas in…?" I asked myself quietly, leaning around the edge of the open doorway. The room was empty. "That's good. It would've just been annoying anyways. I'll cut it out." I think I did cry this time.

**Roxas's Point of View**

"Uwaah- Good mornin'… Hm?" Axel yawned, stretching as he walked into the Gray Area and throwing himself on a couch.

"Axel… You didn't see Xion, did you?" I said, glancing around the room.

"Nah!" he said, surprised. "Maybe she's still sleeping?" he huffed.

"… Even though it's already noon?" I asked doubtfully.

"Oh, that's right." Then he added under his breath, "But I woke up a while ago…"

"I've been here since morning and I didn't seen her, kupo!"

"Oh!" I said sadly, facing Moogle.

"I was out here earlier, you know…" Axel said. I wasn't sure if he was serious or not.

"Is that so?" I said, turning back to face him, looking back at the door again, hoping to see her.

"All the fuss because you haven't seen her in a while. Is that what they call worrying?" Axel asked dully.

"You guys! What happened to your mission?" Saïx said, entering the room.

"Oh, good timing," Axel laughed. So I asked Saïx where Xion went.

"Xion? She should be in Twilight Town taking care of a large Heartless," he replied, then added, "If you have the free time to be thinking of other people, then don't dare leave a single Heartless undefeated."

"Got it!" I called as I sprinted into a Dark Corridor. " 'Collect more hearts, collect more hearts!' He's so annoying!" I said to myself as I sliced at several Bad Dogs and Minute Bombs in front of the Beast's Castle.

Several hearts flew into the air as I realized there were no Heartless left. I went to the clock tower and waited. "Will Xion come today…?" I asked, not bothering to pick up any ice cream. Then a Dark Corridor appeared behind me, so I snapped my head over my shoulder.

"What's up?"

"Oh, it's just Axel," I sighed.

"Hey, that's no way to greet me!" he scoffed, taking a seat beside me. "Xion isn't coming, huh?"

"Mm. Since her mission was in this town, I thought she might come when she finished." I cupped my hands around my eyes, peering out around Twilight Town. "Maybe I can see her from here…"

"Haha! Did you bring a telescope or something?" Then a saw a big puff of dust in the center of the forest just outside of Twilight Town's walls, followed by several more.

"Hey, is that Xion over there?" I pointed to show Axel.

"Did she cause that big blast? Wonder if she's alright… She might be having a hard time," he said once he saw the dust clouds, too. A bead of nervous sweat formed on my face just before I leapt from my seat and formed a Dark Corridor.

"I'm going to get her!" I shouted as I sprinted into the inky smoke.

"Hey, Roxas!" and I was gone before he could finish.

"It was probably around here," I said to myself, appearing a bit farther north than where the dust clouds were on purpose, considering they were formed one after the other, heading towards the place I was born. And that's when I saw her, running from the forest towards the locked gate. "Ah! Xion!" I called, sprinting towards her. She glanced over her shoulder and turned sharply to run alongside the stone wall.

"Roxas…" she said as she froze, turning to face me. She was covered in bloodied scratches, the ends of her cloak torn and her hair in knots.

"You're really roughed up! I got an Elixir you can drink, thought it was from a special sale…" Why did Moogle only sell Elixirs that were about to go bad? Anyway…

"Roxas, watch out!" Xion screamed. I turned quickly in time to see a giant lizard thing charging at me.

"Uwaah!" It had spit it's tongue at me. It must have had some kind of venom, because it hurt pretty bad. I was thrown back against the stone wall a few feet away, falling into the grass.

"! Roxas!" Xion cried. I saw her hands glow, but there was no spell. "It's no good, my power is already worn… Ugh…" And she fell to the ground, too.

"Kweh!" it screeched. Axel leapt into the air and threw one of his flaming Chakrams, lodging in the back of the Heartless's head. I was lifted from the ground, too.

"Get up, Roxas!" Axel yelled, throwing me back on the ground.

"Ugh…" I hit the ground hard, but leapt to my knees quickly. "Axel!"

"You came to help but get yourself beat up!" he sighed. I looked past Axel to see something black in the grass.

"Xion!" I yelled, rushing to see her unconscious.

"She's out of energy, but we gotta take care of that guy first!" Axel said, glancing behind him at the Heartless.

"Let's collect it's heart," I growled, gripping my Keyblade tighter as it appeared in my hands. Axel leapt into the air and spun his Chakrams against it's scaled back. It flicked it's tongue, glancing around for us with it's swirled eyes and hit us with it's tail once. I sprinted alongside it's gray-brown striped body, digging my Keyblade in deeper as I went. And then everything was black with it's smoke, a heart as big as the Darkside's flying slowly upward.

"Steady there, Xion!"

"Nn… Ah, Roxas…" she said, balancing herself on her hands, still half laying down.

"Wanna drink an Elixir?" I asked, pulling it back out from my pocket. I added under my breath, "Even though it was on special sale…"

"We took care of the Heartless, so don't worry about it," Axel grinned from behind where I was kneeling. She was suddenly staring at Axel like she'd never seen him before.

"… Who is this? …" she asked. Oh, yeah. She _hadn't_ seen him before. We introduced everyone and soon we were all up at the clocktower. (Xion had said that the Heartless was called a 'Veil Lizard'.)

"Here you go, eat up!" Axel said, passing two Sea Salt ice creams down to me, myself passing the extra to Xion.

"Thanks… Axel," she said quietly as I sat between my two friends. We all happily took a bite of our ice cream.

All except Xion. Axel and I glanced at each other, a frown spreading across out faces as we looked back at Xion.

"Your ice cream is melting," I mentioned, wondering what was wrong.

"… Oh," she sighed, still just looking at the city below us.

"Is something up?" I finally asked.

"…"

"If something is troubling ya, just talk to your friends," Axel said, grinning. "Right, Roxas?"

"Yeah," I said, glancing at Axel before looking back at Xion who sat silently beside me.

To be given the cold shoulder so abruptly, I was a little perplexed. You can tell your troubles to your 'friends'. That's what friends are for, but that was the first time I knew what it meant. I thought that was the kind of relationship I wanted with Axel and Xion.

"That's right. We're your friends, aren't we?" She looked at me. I could tell she was about to cry. I felt bad for her, even without a heart.

"The Keyblade…" she said after a moment, looking back at Twilight Town. "I can't use it anymore."

"Eh?" I was surprised, to say the least. I didn't know it was possible to forget how to use it.

"I haven't been able to collect hearts since then," she said sadly, tightening her grip on the ice cream stick. "If I can use the Keyblade I… I'll become useless! They'll turn me into a Dusk!" she cried, beginning to shake.

The three of us… We took turns confessing our grudges about Saïx. After that, we set up a strategy.

"The two of you together?" Saïx asked, crossing him arms. I glanced at Xion, already looking at me, who seemed even more nervous about this than I was. So I spoke up.

"It's not OK, is it…?" I said sadly. Maybe he'd change his mind if we didn't make him angry by arguing?

"You must understand that our numbers have been depleting." Now it was time to fight back.

"But if the two of us work together, we thought we may be able to handle more difficult missions," I said, glancing at Xion again. She nodded her head so slightly that I almost didn't notice it at all. She must have agreed that what I had said was the best we could argue. Then I carefully added, "And it'd raise our motivation, too." I gave a nervous smile as I felt Xion's eyes on me.

"What is the meaning of 'motivation'?" I was shocked that he asked me a question like that, but I answered anyway.

"Uh, well… Not to say that there isn't willingness between us separately…"

"I asked you what the meaning was," Saïx repeated. I was surprised when Xion jumped in.

"Um… It's like…" she stumbled on her words. I was about to say something to get the pressure off of her when Axel showed up.

"Isn't it alright, Saïx? For these two newbies, who are just coming of age?" he laughed. How was he not nervous? "Put two half-pints together and you get a whole."

"…Fine," he huffed. Xion and I turned to each other. Her smile was spread wide across her face, so I knew mine must have been, too. "But if this change doesn't reflect in the collection rate results, I'm putting an end to it."

"Understood," Xion and I said together.

Our strategy was simple. We would meet the quota between us using my Keyblade. Axel thought it up. It was a good idea.

"Thanks Axel!" Xion shouted once Saïx was gone.

"No prob! It worked out, everything went smoothly," he replied, turning to face me. "Good luck making up Xion's share of the quota!"

"Nah, I can handle it!" I huffed, wearing a determined expression. "I'm not gonna let Saïx keep judging me negatively!" I'm not sure why, but Axel looked both surprised and overjoyed.

"I'm sorry… I'm making you overdo it…" Xion said sadly, shivering again.

"It's OK!" I encouraged. "Leave it to me!"

"That's right," Axel said, placing his hand on Xion's head and messing up her hair. She winced, then looked up at him carefully. "In times of trouble, you can depend on your friends. Right Roxas?"

"Yeah!" I said, holding out my hand. Xion looked surprised. She watched me carefully, Axel's hand still on her head. She took my hand, using her other hand to touch a finger to her blushing cheek.

"Thank you," she grinned. "Roxas, Axel."

Later I heard that Saïx looked up 'motivation' in the dictionary.

* * *

Hahah! Saïx… (X]) Sorry, I don't have much to say this time, but I just started working on my first non-manga chapter! Remember, I'll mark it with a "x" at the beginning of the title so that you can keep up with it as it moves up in chapter number. You know, since I'll still be posting manga chapters in the correct chronological order. Thanks to everyone who has commented!


	8. A Best Friend

_**Sanctuary**_

_**A Best Friend**_

"Hey," Xigbar said from a couch as Xion and I entered the Gray Area. "How rare, you two on a mission together?"

"Uh, yep!" I said, not sure if he was serious or sarcastic. My 75th day, Xion and I getting our mission.

"Seems like a change of pace."

"Oh?" Xigbar asked as I turned to see Saïx entering the room behind us. Xion stood beside me, not bothering to turn her hooded head. I wasn't sure why she had her hood up. She usually only wore it when she was sad. Maybe she was still upset that I had to gather hearts for both her and me. But still, she ought to be happy that Saïx let us work together at all.

Still, she smiled.

"It'll be something to see how much the results will improve now," Saïx said, breaking my train of thought, smirking slightly.

"Let's go, Xion," I said, forming a Dark Corridor and stepping through. Soon I stood on sand instead of metal, turning to see Xion's face appearing from the Corridor, the rest of her blending into the inky smoke. I closed the Corridor, her black hair and uniform suddenly standing out sharply against the white sand. I peered around the corner of a crumbling wall, followed by the now hoodless Xion.

"The streets look busy, lots of gazing eyes," I whispered back at her. "Shall we try going around near the desert? Uwah!" Something flew around my feet in a blur, then froze.

"Kee kee!" I heard it call as it leapt to my left shoulder, climbed behind my neck to the other shoulder and finally racing up to the top of my head.

"Wha- A monkey!" I cried, Xion as shocked as me. I picked it off my head and held it in my hands by it's waist.

"Hey! Abu!" I heard someone call. Suddenly, someone was in the same alley as us. "You guys! Hold on to him!"

"Huh?" Xion looked at the man, then turned to me. "Ah!"

"Gyah kya kya kya!" The monkey had begun to claw at my face, and soon I realized he was free from my hands.

"I'm after him!" Xion shouted. I heard her jump to the flat roof of a nearby building, chasing the monkey.

"Xion!" I called after her, my face covered in bleeding scratches. For the moment I couldn't open my eyes without my face stinging.

"Kyah!" I heard the monkey call from far off.

"Sorry about that," I heard the man that had shown up in the alley say, running into the street. When I realized that Xion was probably spotted, I opened my eyes, despite the pain, jumping to the roof that I heard Xion shouting from. I spotted her as she jumped from the roof of one building and over the busy street, catching the monkey in midair.

"Gotcha!" she said, smiling as she landed in the center of the street.

"Abu!" It was that man again, running down the street and weaving through the crowd until he reached Xion. "You thought if you slipped in the crowd and took something from the shops it wouldn't be bad?"

"Ki Kyah!" The monkey struggled to free itself, but Xion held it facing the crowd instead of toward herself so she wouldn't get scratched. Huh. Good idea…

"Thanks! You were really great!" the man said as he began to slow his pace. The crowd had begun to applaud Xion's feat. "Hey, Abu! Come!" The monkey, now in a looser grip from Xion, jumped to this man.

"Ukeh!" Then a bigger man walked up behind the owner of the monkey.

"So he ran? That thief monkey!"

"Sorry about that. The goods are right here…" he handed the fruit back to the shop owner.

"Are we done dealing with this?" the shop owner said angrily as Xion still stood behind the two nervously. "And on top of this, the sandstorm is raging!"

"Xion!" I whispered violently, grabbing her arm and rushing the two of us back into an alleyway, practically carrying her the entire way.

"Wow, what a weird place," she said once she had figured out that I had taken her from the street. "I was accidentally seen, huh? But it's usually a more peaceful street."

"That was bad, the mission is supposed to be a secret," I scolded lightly.

"Sorry!"

"Regardless, this place it covered in sand, it's hard to walk in," I said, returning my thoughts to the mission.

"It's because of the sandstorm. Seems rough for the people in the streets…" Xion said with sympathy.

"Alright! Let's search for Heartless from up there!" I said, pointing to the city walls. And soon we had climbed to the top by scaling a nearby tree. It was less than half as high up as the clock tower. Xion sat in one direction and I faced the other. I still didn't spot any Heartless. I turned back to Xion who was opening and closing her fist repeatedly.

"Still can't call it? The Keyblade?"

"Yeah…" I would have tried to say something to cheer her up, but the sandstorm suddenly hit us, the wind so strong, we nearly flew off the wall.

"Upweh!" I spit out a mouthful of sand. "This is from the sandstorm?" I turned so that the back of my head would be against the wind and sand. I opened one eye, as did Xion.

"Roxas! Over there… It's Heartless!" she shouted, closing both eyes again. I struggled and finally forced one eye open wide enough to see something spinning and causing a tornado, stirring up the sand and causing the sandstorm. We jumped through a Dark Corridor and stepped out to the midway point between the Heartless and Agrabah. We shielded our faces with our arms as the wind pelted us with sand.

"Uwahh!" I heard Xion shout from behind me. She was blown back a little, but soon regained her firm footing and stumbled back behind me.

"Looks like this guy is the cause of the sandstorm!" I shouted back at Xion who had grabbed my arm for support. And then we really saw it.

It was metal and looked almost like a giant worm, with three body sections and giant metal pinchers that could crush a Darkside. It was at least twice the height of the Darkside, eight times my or Xion's height. I swallowed, the sand drying out my mouth.

"Let's go, Xion!"

"Okay!" she shouted from somewhere behind me. We ran towards the eye of the tornado, occasionally sliding back on the loose sand.

"Huff! Huff!" we panted, trying to slide our feet deeper in the sand in hopes of staying grounded. We jumped forward as hard as we could, hoping to slip in close enough to do a bit of damage to the thing. The metal blocks sticking out of it's body segments were causing the tornado, so when we were close enough, the wind pushed us back.

We were thrown back about where the Corridor was, landing on the sand that suddenly seemed tightly packed. The Heartless opened it's jagged metal mouth between it's pinchers, ready to rip us apart when a giant blue man appeared, grabbing the monster's head and holding it still. The wind stopped, the sand still clouding around us from when we fell.

"!" Xion and I looked at each other, the same amount of surprise, disbelief and scratches across our faces.

"Now!" the giant man called, struggling to keep the Heartless from spinning. I decided to question about this blue man that was as big as a Darkside later. "Hurry! There isn't a moment to waste!" he said, sweat forming on his head. I jumped as high as I could and climbed the metal the rest of the way, stabbing the Keyblade into the metal monster between the eyes. It's head cracked open. I fell through the smoke, smiling to myself as the heart the size of a whole Veil Lizard hovered into the cloudless sky.

"Finally!" I said quietly as I continued to fall.

"Roxas!" Xion cried from far beneath me. Far beneath. That's when I realized how badly I would be hurt from falling from such a height- at least the height of Argabah's city walls. But I decided not to struggle. I was going to die either way. At least I could relax for a second after all of that. I continued to fall, enjoying every second of the weightless feeling.

I shut my eyes tightly and gritted my teeth as I hit the ground. It was strange, it seemed to sink lower at a barely slower pace than the one I had been falling at until it came to a steady, gradual stop. I wasn't injured at all…? Then I felt not the grittiness of sand but a soft fabric instead. I sat up, surprised to find myself on a multi-colored rug with golden tassels at it's corners.

"Hahahaha! Nice catch!" I heard the giant man say. I turned to see Xion staring at me, so shocked I thought she was going to pass out. Beside her I saw the giant man winking at her and giving a thumbs-up, now only twice our heights.

Xion and I rode on this 'magic carpet' that flew behind the blue man as we headed towards Agrabah.

"Um… You saved us… Um…" Xion and I stuttered. How could we really thank someone enough for keeping us alive?

"My name is Genie!" he said, turning to fly on his side while he looked back at us, smiling. "A little while ago I was living in a magic lamp as an enchanting genie, you know? If someone rubbed the lamp, I'd come out! It was my job to grant 3 wishes to whoever rubbed the lamp!" Xion and I sat listening to Genie tell his life story, trying to stay on the magic carpet. "But now I'm a free man!"

"Huh… How odd, he's blue…" I finally whispered to Xion who nodded slowly.

"Well, say something!" he laughed.

"Ah! Thank you Mr. Genie…" I said quickly, hoping he didn't hear me before.

"If you wanna say thanks, tell it to Carpet! He's the one that caught you!" So I awkwardly thanked the rug we were sitting on for saving me.

Then we were back at Agrabah, covered in a layer of fine sand. Not nearly as bad as it could have been.

"I look away for a little while and it all changes! Even this street!" Genie said as he looked around the empty street that had previously been filled with crowds of buyers trying to get to the stalls they were interested in. "What a sand mountain," he said as he glanced at the new dunes formed by the sandstorm. "Seems like the only thing these shops sell now it sand. But they couldn't put a price on that, huh."

"It was the sandstorm's fault… The reason the street is covered in sand…" I said from behind him.

"What! Tell me quickly! What all happened while I was gone!" he asked, turning sharply to face me. "I can't take this, Carpet!" he said, turning back the other way. "That's right! First let's find Al!"

"Um… We're gonna go back now…" I said, Genie ignoring me and floating over a building.

"Hah hah ah!" he laughed.

"Aladdin! Are you alright?" I heard a female voice say from behind Xion and I.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled, climbing out from under broken pieces of wood and other rubble.

"Oh, it's the guy from before," Xion said, looking at the owner of the monkey, 'Abu'.

"AL!" Genie cried, suddenly beside us.

"We found him quick!" I thought.

"This crumbling place…" Genie said sadly, pretending to cry. He grabbed us around the shoulders with his arms, his hands on the shoulders closest to him. His hands as big as our heads, we were trapped. We had no chance of sneaking away. "I could fix it up in the blink of an eye with my magic…" He floated up to the flat roof of a nearby building, carrying us with him.

"Wha- What's going on?" I asked as he let us down and out of his grasp.

"Shh!" he winked. "It's my long awaited arrival, so I'll appear from behind and make a surprise entrance! They'll be like, 'Who is that!', " he snickered as he leaned over the edge of the roof.

"What a hassle!" I thought to myself as I sighed, glancing at Xion.

"Hey, Aladdin," the girl with the black hair and the big gold earrings said. "As for Genie, won't he come back again?" The Genie grinned as Xion and I watched.

"Jasmine," this 'Aladdin' sighed.

"I'm serious, we can't manage this!" she said, her face coated with dirt. "Surely you can ask Genie for help! You guys are friends, aren't you?" she shouted, grabbing Aladdin by the arms and making him look her in the eyes.

"Here I am! It's me!" Genie cried happily, busting our eardrums.

"Of course we're friends," Aladdin said to Jasmine, apparently not hearing Genie somehow. "But that's not an excuse to rely on him to fix things. Genie is finally a free man now." This time Aladdin grabbed Jasmine's arms as she looked at him desperately. "For a long time Genie has been making other people's wishes come true. He finally has time to do what he wants. We'll do our best without using magic! Trust me!"

"I understand, I'm sorry," Jasmine said sadly. Genie looked like Xion when she was about to cry- eyes getting all shiny.

"It's fine."

"What's Al saying?" Genie said, surprised. It was strange. Water came from his eyes. I guess that was what happened when someone actually _does_ cry. "Look what I've done! I've made them worry about me like that." Carpet handed Genie a cloth which he took from the small tassel. Xion and I exchanged glances. Why was Genie upset? He didn't do anything.

"Maybe you should talk to them?" I offered. Genie floated off of the roof.

"That guy doesn't need me, he's doing good on his own. Here come the water works. Only a best friend would say such a thing," he said, stopping a few feet away and wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Best… Friend…?" Xion and I asked.

"But my best friend is torn up over me," he said, landing back on the roof and waving a finger which left a trail of sparkles. "Therefore I can't stand by and do nothing about this! Help of this level is something only I can do!" Everything began to shine, and as the blinding lights disappeared, I noticed the all the sand was gone from inside the city. "Looks like the sandstorm is taken care of. Thanks to you guys defeating that monster in the desert!" he said, rising into the air. "Well, then! Bye bye!" Genie and Carpet spun into the air, just like a heart, disappearing in the sky.

"Looks like the sand has cleared up," Jasmine said, bending down beside a broken stall.

"Sure does, finally!" Aladdin said, carrying a piece of wood. "Huh? There was sand all over here. Wonder who cleared it up?" He suddenly looked at the sky where Genie and Carpet had just been moments ago. "Genie…?"

"Is something the matter?" Jasmine asked, walking beside him while gathering discarded rope.

"Nah. It's nothing."

"What's that? A best friend, huh?" Axel said once we were eating ice cream on the clock tower.

"A 'best friend'… Is that different than a 'friend'?" I asked. Axel seemed to know a lot.

"Sounds the same to me."

"Huh?" Xion and I shouted, a little disappointed.

"Well, if I had to explain it, I guess it's sort of the friend that ranks higher than the rest."

"I see…" Xion said quietly, looking at her ice cream.

"But, how is one friend above the rest any different?" I asked, still not getting it.

"…" Axel paused, thinking about his answer. "Well… I don't know, I don't have a best friend."

"I see," I said, taking a bite of my ice cream and looking up at the sky with my head down.

'What about us?' The question was caught in my throat, but I didn't ask.

"Let's do our best tomorrow too!" Xion said happily.

"Right," I agreed.

I thought if I treasured that moment then, little by little I'd come to understand the meaning.

* * *

This is the last manga chapter I have right now, and I'm sorry that it froze in a place with so much _Disney_ written all over it. (X P) At least it was longer than the last chapter. Watch for the "x", guys!


	9. x Poppet x

*Confetti Explosion* Yay! First non-manga-based-pure-Fanfic chapter! Woot! (:3) (I meant to make the mark a *, but the Title wasn't allowed to contain that symbol.) So I won't be doing as many Author's Notes around the chapters anymore since I'll be pretty preoccupied between playing the game and adding my own twists. So allow me to say something quickly- short chapters from now on. I'll try to make them a bit longer/ update more often to make up for it. It's just that I write something, and only a few hundred words in, I find a perfect stopping place for that chapter! (/.\) But not to worry, if I have almost all short chapters, that means I might be able to update each day and every day! (But no promises) Anyway, read! (You can figure out where we are in the story on your own!) (X3)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Poppet**_

"Is Xion around?" I asked, glancing around the clock tower.

"Nope," Axel said, taking a bite of his ice cream.

"Oh," I sighed. "I haven't seen her in a while. She hasn't been up here much but the last time I saw her, she seemed mad at me or something. And she seemed distracted…"

"We'll just have to have a talk with her, huh Roxas?" he laughed.

"It's up to her to join us or not…"

"I guess your right," Axel replied after a moment. We didn't talk much after that.

I was awake the next day, yawning my way through the halls and into the Gray Area.

"Has the game been treating you well?" I didn't even need to turn my head to know it was Luxord.

"Uh, I guess," I said , scratching my head in confusion.

"Good. Your mission is with me today, so come prepared." He turned to walk away as I quickly asked him.

"Wait, you haven't seen Xion, have you?"

"Xion? No, I haven't." I started to think that she might have lost hold on the Keyblade again. Luxord walked away just as Saïx approached me.

"Saïx, what happened to Xion?" I asked desperately. Surely Saïx would know.

"The Puppet?

"I thought her nickname was 'Poppet'?" I thought to myself.

"It failed it's mission and passed out. It's sleeping in it's room." He crossed his arms, looking down at me. My eyes widened, spinning on my heel and sprinting towards the hallway. "Roxas! Where are you going? You have yet to complete your mission."

"Can't I just finish it later?" I yelled, already in the center of the room.

"It doesn't matter if you are with it or not, it's not going to make it wake up faster. Besides, it's broken. Defective." I froze in my tracks, clenching my fists and turning sharply to face him.

"What is WRONG with you? Calling Xion 'broken' and 'defective'? And stop calling her an 'it'! Xion is a Nobody just like you!" I screamed, turning back to the hallway and running as fast as I could. I slammed the door back and froze, stumbling forward a step and into her room. She really was asleep. "I wonder what happened…?" I walked slowly towards the bed and placed one of the sea shells near her pillow, just like Xion did for me while I was asleep like that. "I hope you wake up soon…" I closed the door behind me as I left.

Soon I was at the clock tower.

"Axel… Xion-"

"Yeah, Saïx told me this morning." He didn't seem too troubled about this, but I still knew Axel cared just as much as I did.

"… Why does he hate her so much!" I yelled, curling my fists and slamming them against the wall we sat on. No ice cream today.

"Listen to you."

"What?" I huffed.

"Why do you do that so much? You know, talk like you're a real person."

"Why? What did I say?" I asked, suddenly confused. "I don't know how real people talk…"

"Sometimes you act like you really have a heart or something."

"But when I saw her lying there… I couldn't stop thinking that she'll never wake up." Maybe he didn't care as much as I did.

"She will," he said simply, looking at the setting sun.

"… Saïx called her 'broken'…"

"Well, if it cheers you up, I'm probably a lot more broken than her," he laughed.

"Saïx knows something about her. Why she and I are special Nobodies." I stared at the town.

"Well, if it's gonna' keep you up at night, I could ask him for you," he said, scratching his head.

"Really?" I asked, standing up on the wall with excitement.

"Yes, really! I'll ask, but don't get your hopes up. Straight answers are hard to come by with him," he said, then added, "Now sit down before you fall."

"He's more likely to tell you than he is me," I said, obeying him and sitting back down. It felt like he was babysitting me all over again.

"True," he laughed.

"… I just hope she wakes up soon…"

I spend the next few days on missions, then up at the clock tower- sometimes with Axel- and in Xion's room, adding another shell from the beach. Then I go back to sleep, wake up the next day, and repeat this pattern. It seemed to go on for forever.

Then she woke up.

"Xion!" I yelled, surprising me as she sat upright and woke up. She must have had a nightmare. "Xion! Your awake!"

"Roxas. Hey." She glanced down. "Thanks for the shells," she smiled- what I had waited for ever since I found out that she was asleep.


	10. Awake

I only changed the title, by the way. I needed to use "The Impostor" for another chapter's title (Xp)

* * *

**_Sanctuary_**

**_Awake_**

"Have you gone on your mission yet?" she asked me softly.

"Uh, no. I was just heading to the Gray Area."

"Then, can I come?" she asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

"D-Don't you need to rest a bit first?" I asked, helping her sit upright while she swiveled her legs over the edge of the bed.

"Roxas, I've been resting for days now."

"Weeks," I added helpfully with a grin.

"Weeks, then. And I need the exercise!" she begged, standing up. I kept my hands on her shoulders and sighed.

"Alright. But you have to promise me that you'll tell me what happened over ice cream after the mission."

"Yeah, sure," she smiled. "And Axel too."

"Of course," I said, returning the smile. We left her room and she walked alongside me into the Gray Area.

"Look Axel! Xion's awake!" I grinned. This was even better than showing him a 'Winner' stick.

"Xion!" He turned to see us near the entrance, grinning so wide that I thought the corners of his mouth were going to touch his ears.

"Hey, Axel," she smiled.

"Long time no see," he commented. Xion nodded.

"So it lives," Saïx said, walking toward us. Xion reached an arm behind her neck, quickly pulling her hood over her head. "Go back to your room. I didn't write you down for a mission today."

"But she wants to go on my mission with me," I said, raising my arm defensively in front of Xion who stood silently behind me with her hands folded.

"Axel is already going with you."

"Can't they both go?" I asked, a bit angry. He always has to do something to Xion…

"Yeah, come on, Saïx. It's not such a big deal if Xion tags along, is it? I can watch 'em both at once. I'm a big boy," Axel laughed.

"… Fine," he growled. "But I expect twice the heart collection now that the other Keyblade wielder is on this mission. Understand?"

"Yeah," Axel and I said as Xion nodded slowly. Saïx turned and left, Xion removing her hood. She started after him- well, more like glared- until he turned down another hallway and out of sight.

"Xion, you okay?" I asked. Saïx… What was his problem?

"Yeah, I guess…" I put a hand on her shoulder in sympathy, suddenly remembering something I had forgotten about.

"Hey Axel. Did Saïx say anything when you asked him?" I whispered, keeping my hand on Xion's shoulder- and as far away from me as possible.

"Uh… Oh, yeah. I asked him, but his lips were sealed. But he did say that he'd take back saying that she was 'broken' if she proved herself valuable again," he whispered back.

"Great! She can just kill a few extra Heartless each day and it will add up to quite a bit, right? I bet even Xemnas will recognize her for it!" I grinned, quickly standing next to Xion again before she noticed I was whispering to Axel. She glanced up from the floor, seeing the motion out of the corner of her eye.

"What are you smiling about?" she said, returning the smile as if it were contagious.

"Nothing much," I laughed, glancing at Axel. He pretended to whistle, making him look 'inconspicuous'. "I'm just glad that we can all be together again."

"Yeah. Yeah, me too," she said, laughing along.

Soon we were all on our mission to kill two giant Heartless. We killed one of the two, (saving the next one for tomorrow) and I killed off a few extra Heartless in case Xion still needed some rest. We ran by the old woman's ice cream shop, reminding us about the 'Winner' stick. I forgot to bring it again. Oh well.

"Wow, I guess it's been a while since I've had this, huh?" Xion asked, taking a big bite of the ice cream.

"Yeah, it has," I replied. "Good thing your awake, too. I was getting pretty sick of Axel's stupid jokes and stories."

"Hey!" Axel yelled, laughing as he punching my in my shoulder, nearly making me fall backwards. We all laughed together.

"I don't care if the Organization says I don't have a heart," I thought to myself. "Because I'm happy right now."


	11. Broken

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Broken**_

Axel, Xion and I went after the second giant Heartless. We arrived in Twilight Town, killing a few smaller Heartless as we hunted for the giant one. We went to the Sandlot first, where the first one was, then decided to head for the plaza. As we walked through the gate and into the plaza, Xion stumbled a few steps.

"Xion, are you okay?" I asked, grabbing her arm before she fell over.

"Y… Yeah, just a little dizzy, that's all…"

"I knew you should've rested a bit more," I sighed. Her head hung and hand dropped from where it was held on her head. "Xion. Xion!" I called, raising her head up. I saw that her eyes were still open but unfocused, just before the lids slid over them. As if this wasn't enough, the giant Heartless appeared- a Guardian. I told Axel to watch Xion for me while I took out the Heartless. I handed Xion over to him, turning my attention to the Guardian. I sent a few spells off before finishing it with my Keyblade, only hurt a bit by it's lasers.

Axel and I hurried back to the Castle, heading to Xion's room. Along the way, we met none other than Saïx himself. Great.

"It's broken again? That didn't take long."

"Xion isn't broken and she is a she, not an it!" I yelled angrily. I probably should have been carrying Xion in the first place, because as soon as I summoned my Keyblade instinctively, Axel had to stop me by handing her to me. At least this kept my arms full so I didn't kill him.

"Careful not to damage the Doll in your arms even further, Roxas." Even with Xion in my arms, Axel had to place his arm between the two of us to remind me to calm down. I walked past him with a glare and gritted teeth, taking Xion to her room.

This time, I was glad Xion wasn't awake. She didn't need to hear that. And neither did I.

"Just shut up, Saïx," I heard Axel say from behind me. I decided to thank him once Xion was back in her room. He soon joined me in the halls and opened the door to her room for me. We went inside and walked towards her bed. I sat on the edge for a moment.

"Thanks for standing up for us, Axel," I said, glancing at Xion before looking back at him.

"Eh, whatever. Saïx had that coming for a while," he said while scratching his head, stopping to grin.

"… Sora…" Xion mumbled, her eyes scrunching together for a moment, opening slightly, then closing again.

"Your worried, too, right?" I asked, watching Xion settle back into her unconscious state.

"Well, I can pretend to be, right?" he asked. I glanced up at him, wide eyed. "No heart, remember?" he said, tapping his chest with one finger.

"… Right," I said, pausing. "That's not like you, though."

"What?"

"Worrying- or pretending to, at least- about someone."

"What do you mean by that?" he said, eying me.

"Well, you hate complications, right?" I said, staring at Xion. He paused for a moment, then responded.

"Roxas, I meet up with you and Xion at the clock tower all the time. Why do you think I do that?" I thought for a moment, then realized I didn't know. "I don't need to go out of my way, right? Well, I do because you guys are my friends. And friends are willing to deal with complications." I smiled and nodded, turning and laying Xion on her bed.

"Heh heh… Thanks, Axel. Your sweet," she said. Then she turned and opened her eyes.

"Feeling better?" I asked, wondering if she was faking it since she had stirred a bit.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry," she smiled.

"Try not to worry us anymore, huh?" he asked.

"Right," she nodded.

"And take it easy for today."

"I will," she smiled. "Thanks."

Axel turned and left, closing the door behind him. I decided to stay behind.

"I'm tired," she mumbled, closing her eyes. "You can leave if you want. I think I'll sleep for the rest of the day," she sighed, laughing lightly.

"Yeah. You seem more exhausted than you let on. But I'll just stay here for now," I said, sitting at the end of the bed. After a few moments of silence, her breathing slowed a bit, nearly asleep.

"I saw something like the dreams and visions you were talking about…" And then she was asleep. I stood and left, deciding to go to the clock tower. Even if Axel had just gone back to his room, I still wanted to go.

"Roxas, what took so long?" he asked as I slowly walked up the last few stairs and around the corner. He handed me an ice cream.

"I didn't take that long," I said, rolling my eyes and dropping down onto the wall. "Xion's asleep."

"Good," he nodded.

"I guess she's following your example, huh?" I chuckled, Axel punching me. "I hope Xion wasn't awake when Saïx was around."

"Where'd that come from?" he asked, scratching his face with a finger.

"I don't know, but you wouldn't want her to hear stuff like that, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess your right," he sighed. "But it's not like hearing him say that would make much of a difference."

"What do you mean?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Well, Xion gets talked to like that all the time."

"What? Who else-"

"No, no. I just mean by Saïx. And calm down," he sighed, pushing me back so that I wouldn't fall- just like on the first day I sat in my throne in the Round Room. The first time I met Xion.

"What's his problem…" I sighed, taking a huge bite of ice cream. Axel shrugged.

"I don't know, but listen, Roxas. Next time that I'm not there to stop you, please don't kill him," he laughed, taking a mouthful of his ice cream.

"Maybe," I laughed. "If I'm in a good mood."

"There you go again, Roxas," he sighed. "Talking as if you had a heart."

"What now?" I asked.

"Nobodies don't have 'moods'. 'Moods' are based on what emotion your feeling at the time. Where do you get all this from? …Oh, right."

" 'Oh right' what?" I asked. He sounded as if he already knew the answer- I know I didn't. So I tried to convince him to tell me.

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing!" he sighed. Yeah, he was serious about keeping this to himself. So I let it drop.

"Fine, fine," I said, checking my stick. No 'Winner'. I brought it with me today, and Xion wasn't here again. I couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" Axel asked, puzzled.

"Nothing!" I shouted, quoting him. He growled, crossing his arms.

"It's not my fault I'm not allowed to tell you what I had thought of," he huffed.

"So it's a secret, then."

"Yeah," he laughed. "I guess so."

"So you aren't going to share the Organization gossip, huh?" I asked, putting on my best girl voice.

"Nope. I'm no Gossip Girl," he laughed. We stared off at the setting sun. Axel ate the rest of him ice cream, checking to find another blank stick. He stood to leave, but I had to say one last thing.

"Axel, about what you said. What would Xemnas do if I did hurt someone in the Organization?"

"Hm. Probably turn you into a Dusk or something. And by the way, don't get yourself turned into a Dusk." He paused, chuckling. "Or maybe you should so that I can keep you from asking so many questions by zipping up your mouth."

"Hey! I don't ask you that much!"

"Oh really? 'What are friends?' 'What are _best_ friends?' 'What is love?' 'What's a heart?' A heart!"

"Hey, I was just born a week ago when I asked you that! I didn't even know what ice cream was- or what your name was!" I laughed.

"That's right. I forgot about 'Axess'."

"Are you mocking me?"

"Yes, I am," he laughed. "See you tomorrow."

"Later," I said as he walked away. "… Axel was wrong. He's not broken. And neither is she." I smiled. Everything should be back to normal by tomorrow.


	12. Nobody Can Feel

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Nobody Can Feel**_

I woke up and headed into the Gray Area to receive my mission. I yawned, stretching my arms in the air.

"Morning," Xion said, skipping towards me happily.

"Morning… Xion…" I greeted drowsily. It was refreshing to see her in the Gray Area again. "Feeling better?"

"Much. Thanks, Roxas."

"Uh, by the way… As you were falling asleep yesterday, you said somethi-"

"Roxas. Mission- talk later on your own time," Saïx said from directly behind me, making me jump in surprise. Maybe that was what those looks from Xion were about…

"Fine… I'll tell you over ice cream," I huffed as I followed Saïx to receive my mission. Xion made a Dark Corridor and left for her own mission, waving me goodbye. I waved as well until she was gone, then turned to face Saïx. "You couldn't wait one minute for me to finish talking to Xion?"

"I'd advise you to not get attached to the Puppet."

"If you have to call her a nickname, it's 'Poppet'," I growled. "Anyway, since she's already gone, just give me my mission already."

After I finished killing off a few Heartless in Halloween Town, I waited up at the clock tower for Xion and Axel with the ice cream. I decided to begin eating mine since I'll be talking most of the time. She showed up, a bit downcast again.

"So, what happened to that upbeat attitude from this morning, huh?"

"Saïx- that's what happened to it." She huffed as she threw herself onto the short wall, taking her ice cream from my outstretched hand.

"Get yelled at again?"

"Nah, but he gave me a bigger quota to meet in hearts today for revenge," she grinned.

"Sorry. Well, now he can't interrupt, so… You said something about seeing things just like I did when you passed out." She nodded, a mouthful of ice cream keeping her from talking.

"Yeah, I saw a two people that I should have known, but… Anyway, one of them said 'It's my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me!' And she handed the boy five pink sea shells that had been sewn together to make a star shape."

"Huh. I'm not sure what to make of that, I haven't seen any charm, but… Oh! There's been so much going on lately with you that I forgot to tell you what I had come up with! You know- a reason why we experience so many of the same things. Now, this could be proven wrong, but… Well, maybe in our past lives- before we were Nobodies- we were friends, just like we are now. Now we've started to remember our past lives like the other Members, and a lot of them are the same memories because we shared them!"

"Well, your definitely right about the fact that it could be wrong- but it could be right, too!" she smiled at me, then suddenly frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, there are a total of three people I've seen in my visions. And Axel remembers his past life like the others… So that means that we're forgetting an old friend from our past life. If it was Axel, he would have told us. It's just kinda sad, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess your right," I said, surprised. She ate the last of her ice cream.

"No 'Winner'."

"Hah, me either. Oh, and don't worry about another 'Winner' just yet. I keep forgetting to bring our 'Winner' stick up here with me."

"Well, remember next time," she teased.

"Hey, your to blame, too! You didn't show up when I remembered to bring it with me yesterday. Axel was here and everything. But I couldn't let you miss out on his face!" I laughed just imagining it.

"Speaking of which, where is he?"

"I'm not sure."

"That busy, huh?"

"Maybe, who knows," I shrugged.

"You think he's in town?"

"I don't think so," I replied. "I don't see any bright red spikes anywhere!"

"Yeah, that should really stick out," she laughed.

We laughed together. And this time it didn't quite seem as forced as it usually did.


	13. Questions

Okay, so it'll be a few more chapters still until I really break off. Also, Qdude511 and blblblblbl, you were asking when I was going to throw in the major Roxas x Xion stuff. Well, I'm very tomboy-ish. I only selected "Romance" as my second category because I had to pick a second category and I plan to throw in a few Roxas x Xion hints. So I won't have too much romance-y stuff. No makin' out- I won't even have them saying "I love you" or any crap like that, really. (Well, this could change overtime to something around the same level as "I like you", but I'm not sure just yet.) Just PLENTY of big hints and stuff like that in a few chapters after my HUGE twist. So be patient for me, please! (C = )

Also, I'm actually writing the chapters that come after the big twist right now, so I'm a bit behind. You know, since I play the game (rushing through the missions and not saving), write things based on what I played, then play the game seriously and save.

Okay, I'm done now! (X])

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Questions**_

I was up at the clock tower with ice cream, waiting for Axel and Xion. Axel never showed, but Xion did, if only for a moment.

"Xion, hey." I handed her an ice cream, even waved it in front of her face, but she seemed more zombie-like than I was my first week. "No ice cream?" I asked, lowering my arm.

"…" she sighed, turning to leave.

"So that's it, huh? Just come up here to leave?"

"… I," she paused, hanging her head, her short hair hiding her face. "I've begun to dream… Every night, I've dreamt of my past life. I have so many questions and… Xemnas won't give me any answers…"

"What are you trying to find out?" I asked, standing up and placing my hand on her shoulder. Her head shot up, swiveling to look at me, wide-eyed.

"You mean-"

"Yeah, I get it. Besides, if we are connected in our past lives, we can find out about both of us!"

"Really? Are… Are you serious?" she said, excited. "Well, I was going to check Castle Oblivion's computers today before RTCing. I… was going to search for information on me, but… If I have enough time, then I can look both of us up! That is to say, that I have enough time before someone catches me…"

"I can come, too! I can stand guard."

"Really? Aw, Roxas, this is going to go so much better with your help!" she cried, placing her hand over mine. "Thank you Roxas!"

"No problem," I laughed. "So are you ready to go now?" She nodded, biting her lip. I formed a Dark Corridor, taking my hand from her shoulder, allowing her hand to slip off. She entered the Corridor as I followed her. We stepped out into an area that looked very similar to the Castle That Never Was- our castle. As soon as we entered, however, Xion touched her hand to her head, stumbling a bit before standing upright again. "Xion! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a small headache." I realized that I had a sudden headache too, which grew to such a pain that I lost consciousness. "Roxas! R… o…"

I woke up in my room. I wondered what had happened. I sat up, already regretting doing so. My head throbbed. I placed my hand against my head as everything began to hide behind the black splotches that I had begun to see. It soon faded, and I was able to look up. Xion sat at the end of my bed.

"Xion, what happened?"

"Huh?" she cried, glancing up at me quickly. "Your awake!"

"Yeah. How long?"

"Just today, that's all," she smiled. "I was afraid that you were going to be asleep for weeks like last time."

"Now you know how I felt when you passed out the second time," I laughed. "So what happened?"

"You just passed out as soon as we stepped out of the Dark Corridor."

"So you still looked us up on the computer, right?" I asked.

"Well, I had time to look up me, but then Axel came and stopped me," she said, looking down sadly.

"What was he doing? He's our friend-"

"He had direct orders from Xemnas himself. That's why he had to bring me back…"

"Still… So what did you find out?"

"…" she remained silent, turning away from me.

"What could you have possibly found out that could be that bad?" She sighed, reaching behind her head and pulling up her hood. Not good. I slid to the end of the bed, placing my arm around her back and on her right shoulder. "Fine, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. What time is it?" She carefully faced me, her hood hiding her eyes.

"Morning…"

"Wait, you didn't stay here all night, did you?" She nodded. "You're not doing me a favor by tiring yourself out like that. We've got to go get our missions, and your about to fall asleep!" Her head nodded for a moment before jerking back up again. "I'll get you an Elixir," I sighed.

I went into the Gray Area and bought an Elixir from Moogle, making sure that it wasn't on a special sale. I headed back to my room, handing it to Xion. She slid up to the top of the bed, asleep against the wall. Her hood was still on her head, but just barely. I pushed her hood over her shoulders. Her eyes slid open slowly. I waved the Elixir in her face.

"Thanks," she sighed, drinking it all in one gulp. "I needed that for my… mission today."

"Right," I nodded, helping her up.

"I think I'm going to go take a nap. I'll do my mission later."

"It's okay, I'll cover for you."

"Really? That would be great- Are you sure?" she asked as we exited to the hall.

"Yeah. You really need some sleep," I said, opening her door. She paused, turning to face me.

"Thanks Roxas. Your always there for me." I closed the door behind her as she walked towards her bed, myself heading for the Gray Area. I heard a noise behind me and turned to see Xion sneaking around the corner at the opposite end of the hall. I wondered where she was going, but decided to ask her later. I asked Saïx if I could take Xion's mission after he assigned me mine.

"So long as the hearts are collected. I can't help but wonder what your motives are. What happened to the Puppet this time?"

"Nothing! Just leave her alone!" I shouted, forming a Dark Corridor and angrily leaving to cover Xion's mission first. I was finished quickly with her mission, then completed mine and skipped ice cream. I went straight to bed, and the next day it was just me and Axel.

"You're early," Axel said as he rounded the corner.

"No, your just late." Axel flopped onto the wall beside me. "Today makes 255."

"What's that about?" he asked, his ice cream in his mouth.

"It's been that many days since I first joined the Organization. Man time flies," I sighed.

"So, you've got the number memorized, do ya'?"

"Yeah," I said, placing my other hand on the stick of my ice cream. "Have to hang on to something, right? It's not like I have any memories from before the Organization," I said, thinking of the few vague visions I had seen. "Don't you remember? I acted like a zombie."

"Right, that first week you could barely form a sentence," he said, placing his hand on my shoulder. He suddenly shoved my back, almost making me fall off the wall. "But come on, your still kind of a zombie."

"Oh, thanks!" I laughed, slapping his hand away.

"Hey, Roxas," he said after we finished laughing at ourselves. "Bet you don't know why the sun sets red. You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."

"Like I asked! Know-it-all," I laughed, elbowing him as he was still watching the sun. He chuckled, pointing his thumb at his face and nodding. We sat for a while in silence, Axel eventually laying on his back with his legs over the wall. "Seriously, where is she?" I sighed, checking for a 'Winner'. Axel unfolded his hands from behind his head, sitting upright.

* * *

This was quite a bit longer than some of the others. By the way, I ended it here because that was the end of the cut scene. Reviews?


	14. Gone

Well, I'm on summer break, same as I have been since I starting posting the FanFic. So I lost track of time, and I'm not even sure if I've posted today. I mean, if it wasn't for the bottom right-hand corner of my laptop, I wouldn't know what day it was. (CX) So, I figured I'd update, even if I already had today. Rofl So, I just figured I'd say this to let you guys know how things are going.

I have a file on my desktop. In that file labeled 'Word Documents' is another folder called 'Sanctuary FanFic'. In it are the folders 'Sanctuary Pt 1', 'Sanctuary Pt 2' and 'Sanctuary Pt 3'. I had to make three different sections because of this reason: Sanctuary Part 1 is manga chapters. Part 2 is FanFic chapters before the big twist (Game play chapters). And Part 3 are the chapters after the big twist, aka 'game play' based chapters (Part 2).

Now that you know that, I can say this: As I post this chapter, I have this in reserve and ready to publish at my liking- Part 1 has 8 chapters complete. Part 2 has 10 chapters complete. Part 3 has 6 chapters complete.

So as soon as I'm done with the Part 2 chapters, I'll probably post all of the Part 3 chapters the next day and label Sanctuary 'Complete'! JUUUST kidding, I'll space it out a bit. (XD) (But not by much) (Xp)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Gone**_

"Roxas…"

"Hm?" I asked, Axel looking off into Twilight Town.

"She's not coming." He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"How come?"

"What, didn't you here…" he said, his voice trailing off by the end of the sentence, looking at me, surprised. He turned back to the sun set, grinning. "She was sent on a big mission- isn't that great?"

"When's she getting back?"

"Uh… That all depends on how well she does!"

"Oh," I sighed. Axel wouldn't look at me. I wondered if he was being honest with me or not.

We went back to the castle, only to be woken up early the next morning. We were told to go to the Round Room. I drowsily zipped my cloak on over my uniform's shirt and pants that I slept in and formed a Dark Corridor to my throne. (My throne had gotten higher up due to the missions I had been completing.) As soon as I arrived, I realized that all of the other Members were already seated. All except Xion. But all of the thrones were full…? I counted them, coming at a total of thirteen thrones which had been assigned to Members, counting those who were 'wiped out' at Castle Oblivion. Xion was Number XIV. She didn't have a throne…

"Xion has gone missing," Xemnas began.

"Whoa, whoa, wait…" Demyx stuttered. "You mean that she, like… Flew the coop?"

"Preposterous," Xaldin laughed. "Why would she choose her own demise?"

"On the contrary," Xemnas stated. "No one is allowed to look for her without my express permission."

"What!" I shouted before I realized it.

"You must either let your 'friend' be. Or, if you'd rather, we could decide on a punishment," Saïx said, glaring at me.

"I would 'rather' get her back!" I yelled, glaring back at Saïx. Everyone was staring at me, but I didn't care.

"She will return when the right time comes," Xemnas interrupted.

"Hmm…" Axel began, placing his hand on his chin. "So that means, if the right time doesn't come, things will stay as they are now…"

"You heard Lord Xemnas. Obey, or meet your end," Saïx growled.

Before I realized it, I was sent off on my missions. Days passed. Weeks, maybe. Then, something actually notable happened. I was sent off to that beach that Xion and I had taken the sea shells from. Destiny Islands. I stared at the waves that were creeping up the sand and towards me, only to fall back and try again. I picked up a sea shell.

"Xion…"

Then I saw another vision of the boy with the brown spikes that wore red. He yawning as he laid back on the sand where I stood. He closed his eyes. Then the Xion look-alike stood over him. His face was in the shade, making him curiously crack an eye open, startled to find the girl standing over him. He sat upright in surprise before laughing it off with her.

They seemed happy. I wished I knew the feeling.

That's when I first realized that this was the island in my visions. The island with the Paopu fruit, where the three people from my visions usually were. But before I could focus on this much longer, I saw someone in the Organization coat walking across the bridge to the smaller island. My eyes widened as I sprinted toward the hooded figure.

"Xion!" I shouted, stopping a few paces away. She turned to face me. I smiled, but it quickly faded. What was going on? Xion removed her hood, but it wasn't Xion anymore. It was Zexion.

He started yelling things that didn't make any sense. Things about darkness and other worlds. Then a voice behind me shouted back about how Zexion was lying and something about his friends. It was the impostor in his black, yellow and blue clothes. They circled me, continuing to argue. My head throbbed, and everything seemed to shake and turn into static. I placed my hand on the sand, and I felt sure that it was going to fall through. It was solid, but when I touched the sand, my head hurt impossibly worse. I fell onto the ground, trying to tighten my grip on my head.

I formed a Dark Corridor and tried to run towards it, but could seem stand up. I was eventually able to stumble my way into my Dark Corridor and get away from the illusions.

After I was able to get away, my head instantly stopped hurting, my sense of balance returning. I eventually found my way to the clock tower.

"Hey, Axel. It's been a while since I've seen you up here."

"Oh really?" he asked, handing me an ice cream. I took my seat.

"… I went to the beach today for my mission. I thought I saw Xion there, but… I think I only saw her because I wanted to see her."

"What do you mean?"

"My whole mission today…" I sighed. "It didn't even feel real. It was almost like a dream that you can't separate from reality…" Axel stared out at the setting sun.

"Then we'll go tomorrow."

"Where? To the beach? Not without Xi-"

"No," he said, standing up on the wall. "We'll go looking for her."

"What? But Xemnas said-"

"Screw Xemnas! Xion's our friend, and we'll go looking for her starting tomorrow. Agreed?"

"Y-Yeah!" I shouted, jumping onto the wall with Axel.

We would find Xion. I knew we would.


	15. The Impostor

Haha! Sorry, I know exactly where it'll break off, but I still wanted to have Roxas go to C.O. with Xion and with Axel (to find Xion), so that means a few more chapters left until my twist. By the way, I just decided to make the twist a bit sooner, so it should be in about 3 chapters now! And as soon as you see my twist, I can update a LOT faster. Maybe even 2 chapters a day! That would be nice! (-u-) Anyway, this is sort of important to the twist, so… PAY ATTENTION! Lol, just kidding, you've played this in the game, but still important. Oh, and I'll go back and erase the Author's Notes that talk about the voting. Two votes in a row that say 'no', I'll take that and be done with it. (Xp)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**The Impostor**_

Well, we did find Xion. It just wasn't the reunion that I had expected- far from it.

Axel and I had been searching for days- every day, after work. We would skip ice cream, split up, and check as many worlds as we could before we had to RTC. (That is, Return To Castle.) Then, one day, we met at the clock tower for ice cream instead.

"I've checked every world that I can go to, and she's not there."

"Me too," Axel sighed.

"…" I sighed, looking past my folded hands around my ice cream and down to the plaza. My head shot up. "Wait!" I think I scared Axel. "What about Castle Oblivion!" I remembered how Xion had wanted to find out about us there.

"What about it?"

"Xion could be there!" I decided not to tell him that I was with Xion when we went last time. Huh. I was unconscious, so I wondered who brought me back to my room. I wondered if he found me there when he went to get Xion.

"… You know, that's where Xion was born."

"What? Really? Huh. I never knew…"

"Yeah, I just found out myself," he huffed.

"So can we go check?"

"I can go check. I know that place like the back of my hand. You, however, would just get in the way."

"Ouch," I laughed.

"Pft. It's not like I can hurt your feelings. You don't have any."

"True," I sighed. "So you'll go check C.O. out for me?"

"Yeah. For the both of us," he said, turning to smile. I nodded. I really hoped that she was there.

The next morning, Saïx assigned me a very convenient mission.

"The Impostor was last seen in Castle Oblivion. Find him and eliminate him. And you'll need a partner." Almost before he completed his sentence, Axel quickly slid closer to the two of us.

"I'll go," he said, raising his hand slightly. "I know that place better than anyone here."

"… Alright. I don't truly care as long as the mission is completed." Saïx left, leaving me and Axel to appreciate our luck.

"This couldn't be better, could it?" I grinned.

"Assigned a mission that conveniently allows us to break Xemnas's stupid rules? I guess it couldn't get much easier, huh?" he laughed. Good thing only Demyx was in the room, preoccupied with his music. We might have gotten in a bit of trouble otherwise.

My smile faded as I remembered what happened last time I was there. But before, Xion and I were just going to satisfy a curiosity. My smile returned. This time I had a better reason to stay conscious than before. This time I was going to find Xion.

Axel gave me a strange look before opening a Dark Corridor. I walked in first, gritting my teeth in preparation. I stepped onto the white metal so similar to that which made up the Castle That Never Was. My head began to ache instantly. I placed a hand on my head, wincing. This was different from last time. Last time it didn't hit me so quickly.

"Roxas!" I fought to remain conscious, but I knew I was already slipping. "We're leaving! Now!"

"No! We… have to find… Xion…" I felt my face smash into the floor. I heard Axel's boot tap the floor behind me. I was lifted from the ground, then everything disappeared. All that was left was darkness. I fought to open my eyes, to beg Axel to find Xion first.

"Giving up already? I thought you were stronger than that," I heard someone's voice echo in the emptiness. No. I wasn't giving up. I opened my eyes, sitting upright. I suddenly realized who the silver-haired boy in my visions was- the same person who had just spoken to me.

"RIKU!" I screamed.

What… just happened? I was in C.O. I was unconscious. I heard a voice… Who was that, anyway? Now I was now in Twilight Town, just outside of the Sandlot area.

"Whoa, you okay there?" I looked up to see Axel standing over me, looking surprised and on edge. I wondered what had gotten him so scared?

"Uh, yeah. Passed out?"

"Yep. You remember?"

"No, I just remember walking inside," I sighed, looking down. "Did you check for Xion?"

"I had to get you out of there first. I figured that after you woke up, you could RTC and I could hunt down the faker and afterwards look for Xion." Just as I was about to form a Dark Corridor immediately so that Axel would get going, I glanced past him just in time.

"Who's there?" Axel shouted, turning over his shoulder.

"Xion?" I ran towards her, suddenly noticing someone else. It was the impostor. I could tell, even with his hood up, that he wasn't one of us. Xion and I were the only Members around this guy's height. He was just a bit taller than me, but had a much stronger build.

Xion turned, forming a Dark Corridor and running into it.

"Xion!" I screamed. I was almost close enough to follow her before it closed. Just as I was about to jump through, the impostor stepped into my path, holding out his arms. The Dark Corridor closed seconds later. I could have followed her. I could have brought her back.

"…" The impostor and I stared each other down. My clenched fists shook as I summoned my Keyblade. The impostor turned and ran down into the Underground Passage. I was able to chase him into the Tunnel with Axel trailing just behind me. Just as I had the impostor cornered, he formed a Dark Corridor and escaped.

"… Xion…"

"There's no way that was Xion!"

"The one with him was. The one who escaped earlier. This was the impostor," I sighed.

"What? But he was supposed to be at Castle Oblivion!"

"But… I don't get it. Why would she run from me? …"

This was one of the few times I was glad I didn't have a heart.


	16. Death Match

I just had to update again today because I am amazingly far ahead. I added my twist a bit early, so I'll end up finishing really early! After this, 4 chapters from now is the first chapter with the twist, so, yay! Die in anticipation as I make you read these first! (Xp)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Death Match**_

I walked to Saïx for my mission in the Gray Area. It seemed duller. I saw Axel in the corner. He glanced up, then looked away again. I dropped my head as Saïx told me my mission.

"Xion has betrayed us," he said, Axel joining the conversation.

"What? No!" I said, surprised.

"You saw the creature consorting with the impostor. What more evidence do we need?"

"That's not evidence!" I said boldly, then sighed. "Who knows why she was with him?" I turned to looked at Axel who simply shook his head, crossing his arms.

"I think we all know, and you just don't want to accept it," Saïx said coldly.

"He might be forcing her," I sighed, hanging my head.

"Ha! Spare me your repulsive displays of would-be sentiment," Saïx huffed.

"It's not a display!" I cried. "Why is it such a crime to give each other the benefit of the doubt?" Axel approached me, only to be cut off by Saïx.

"The impostor has resurfaced in Twilight Town. Go and destroy him, Roxas- like I expected you to do yesterday," he ordered. I hung my head, huffing and slightly growling under my breath.

"Axel, you bring Xion back. Gagged and tied up for all I care." Was Saïx just trying to make me angry? Because it was working. "If that proves to be too troublesome, then you are authorized to adopt a more permanent solution."

"What? Saïx, no!" I screamed, gritting my teeth as my hand began to glow.

"Get going," he ordered, turning just as my Keyblade appeared. Although he was a Nobody and didn't have a heart, I was sure the Keyblade could still take him out. Axel clapped a hand on my shoulder, making me miss my swing at Saïx as he walked away calmly. I knew that I would thank Axel later for that, but I was still too angry to appreciate it.

"Well, this can't get much worse, huh?" he asked.

"Your not actually gonna' follow those orders?" I asked, surprised enough to let my Keyblade vanish.

"Relax, I'll think of something clever once I find her," he grinned, tapping his head. "You just worry about yourself, huh? That guy in our coat didn't look like the type to go down without a fight."

"I know," I nodded. That's why I planned to take out my anger on this guy instead of Saïx. I was soon in Twilight Town. Just as I appeared in the Tram Common I sighed. "I know that was Xion," I said to myself. "But… Who was the guy with her? Why didn't she try to get away?" I glanced up, and there he was. The impostor I was told to kill. "Here we go."

He leapt from the roof of the nearby building and onto the ground. I chased him around most of the town until finally cornering him in the center of the Tram Common. Then he turned, removing his hood.

I take that back. Her hood.

"Xion," I said, surprised as a smile spread across my face. I guess I didn't notice the different build because of the motion involved in our chase. After I realized it was really her, I strode towards her as she kept her focus on the ground. "Where have you been? Axel and I were looking all over for you," I said gently, hoping to convince her to return.

"You have? Sorry," she stated dully, quietly.

"Let's go home. If you come back voluntarily, Saïx will let all this this drop. He has to," I persuaded. She glanced down, hanging her head. "I don't care what he said to you. I'll be there." I smiled and nodded reassuringly. "Me and Axel will make sure-" I caught my breath as Xion's foot slid backwards a pace, as if she were ready to run away again. All I did was gesture towards her with my hand in hopes of her taking it... Was she really that afraid of me…?

"I really can't," she replied, as if to cover for a mistake. She clutched the air with her hand, placing it against her chest.

"Why not?" I asked softly. She gave no reply. It didn't look like she was going to come back with me… I reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Come on…" I chided, missing and grabbing the air. She moved her hand from her chest to her lip, as if trying to make a decision. I could see the deepest pain of a Nobody in her expression. I wasn't sure what the impostor had done to get her like this, but I couldn't stand it. If she came back to the Organization, she could be with Axel and I again. We could be happy again- or, at least… You know…

Xion turned away. Now I wasn't sure who was in more pain.

"Wait!" I called desperately, grabbing her wrist. I saw the light in her other hand. I couldn't believe what I saw, no matter how hard I tried. In her right hand was the Keyblade. My grip slackened, her left hand falling to her side. She turned slowly, raising the Keyblade's tip towards me.

It felt as if this moment lasted longer than the 298 Days that it took to get to this point.

I heard a small swishing sound as Xion swiveled in her position and raised the Keyblade defensively. I couldn't believe what I was seeing again. My eyes had to have been lying, or it was a dream, or an illusion from Zexion. I crossed out each possibility and reality was all that was left.

One of Axel's Chakrams hit her Keyblade, sending sparks flying. It was deflected, only to be lodged in the brick floor it had speared. It disintegrated into ashes as Axel approached us.

"Well hello there… Xion," he said coolly. I thought I knew Axel better than anyone. But each step he took towards Xion made my heart skip a beat- metaphorically speaking. My gut was telling me that something awful was about to happen.

"Axel?" I asked, still in shock. Xion met him half way and charged. "No, wait!" I cried as she swung the Keyblade, only to have Axel duck just in time. He summoned his Chakrams from fire. An all-out death match ensued as I stood helplessly nearby. I occasionally regained my senses before their next attack, only to have my mind struggle to wrap around all of it again.

Why…? Who cares, I just had to stop them! But… was it real? It didn't matter, it could be and I can't take any chances!

"Stop!" I finally screamed. Xion faltered, trying to decide between listening to me and watching for Axel's next move. She glanced between the two of us. Her eyes widened as she turned on her heel, only to have Axel render her unconscious from behind. Her Keyblade hit the ground from her now-loosened grip. It shimmered, disappearing in light, just as Axel's Chakrams had in fire. "Xion…" I said, my voice nothing louder than a devastated whispered.

I stared at Axel, wild-eyed. He caught Xion mid-fall over his arm, continuing to sling her over his shoulder. He glanced at me, a mix between disappointment and shame. I ran for her, reaching out my hand as Axel formed a Dark Corridor around the two of them.

I was alone.


	17. Connection

Okay, I'm really happy. I just realized that one of my favorite songs matches this FanFic perfectly! (Besides one verse in it's chorus, but otherwise to a T!) Okay, the song is "Savior" by Rise Against. Although, you may not entirely get all of the similarities until you've read all of the FanFic. Oh, and I'll be stepping up my posting rate- around 2 chapters per day now, so, WOOT. (Oh, and I don't know why I always start these with 'Okay'. Random. Anyway.)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Connection**_

I stepped out of my Dark Corridor and into the Gray Area. I ran towards Axel who stood near the hallway.

"Where's Xion?" I asked angrily.

"Safe," he replied simply.

"… You didn't have to use force…" I muttered.

"I didn't?" he shrugged.

"No, you didn't. We could've just convinced her to come back with us."

"I watched your 'convincing'. It didn't go well."

"You could have hurt her!" I shouted.

"Well, if we're done here, I've gotta' get going," he said, scratching his head and walking away through the halls. I sighed.

I spent all of the next morning asking around if anyone had seen her.

"Luxord, have you seen Xion around?" I asked.

"Xion? I wasn't aware that she had returned."

"So you haven't seen her?" I asked again, making sure to get a definite 'yes' or 'no'.

"That is what 'I wasn't aware that she had returned' means, yes." He smirked, walking towards Saïx for his mission. There was only one other person I could ask.

I teleported into my throne in the Round Room. Sure enough, he was there.

"Lord Xemnas, I have a question to ask you," I said, looking up at him. He stared back at me, but his eyes seemed to go past me, not focusing on me directly.

"Ask, Roxas," he said, his voice as loud and deep as ever.

"Where's Xion? Is she going to be okay?" I couldn't help but lean forward in anticipation of my long-awaited answer.

"She is resting in her room." I was happy that he recognized her as a person, unlike his right-hand man.

"And you… You won't turn her into a Dusk or anything, right?" I asked, laughing and sweating nervously.

"No. Xion is a valued member of our ranks." As I sighed in relief, I realized that I had heard his voice in one of my dreams when I was unconscious for so long. He and I were on that dark beach when the moon was low in the sky. I closed my eyes, picturing it.

I remembered what he had said to me in my dream.

"Sora…" I quoted, opening my eyes. "Who is Sora?" I asked, raising my voice. Xemnas seemed to actually focus on my face this time. He stared at me intently, choosing his words carefully.

"… Sora is the connection between you and Xion. He is what keeps you two in each other's lives." He had nothing more to say, so I nodded and disappeared. I didn't completely understand what he meant by that, but it was at least an answer. I went on my mission that day, over before I realized it. I then noticed how late it was, hurrying to the clock tower.

Something amazing happened.

We were all there at once. Just like it used to be. I had even brought the 'Winner' stick with me. I smiled, taking the ice cream from Xion.

I sat down. We never said a single word.

But I didn't mind. We were together again. That's all that really mattered anymore. It's what made me want to finish my missions each day. To see my friends was something like a small blessing, appreciating their company more than ever before.

As I finished my ice cream, I glanced at the blank stick in my hand, then back at my pocket. My hand slipped into my pocket, touching my gloved fingertips against the wood. The 'Winner' stick.

I decided to save it for another time.


	18. Worry

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Worry**_

I couldn't sleep. I had dreams- well, more like nightmares- where the boy in red and two others were arguing with his friend in yellow and black with the silver hair. The impostor. He had stolen the boy's Keyblade- yes, he had a Keyblade- and walked away, the two who I hadn't seen before following behind him. The boy in red fell on his hands and knees, a few tears falling.

I would wake up, water on my face. I figured that it must have been the Dusks. I would slowly make my way into the Gray Area, receive my mission and skip ice cream to try to catch up on my lost sleep. I repeated this for days, maybe even weeks. Each day I would feel more tired, hazy, rundown.

"A giant unidentified Heartless has appeared in the Cave of Wonders in Agrabah. Find it and eliminate it at once." Saïx said as I stumbled forward. "Your partner will be with the Puppet."

"Okay…" I sighed, walking towards Xion. "Ready?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah- Roxas, are you okay?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh? Yeah, of course!" I said, straightening up from my slouch, trying to seem a bit more animated.

"A… Alright," she said doubtfully, stopping to smile at me as she formed a Dark Corridor. She entered, leaving me enough time to rest on my knees for a moment. I followed after her slowly, dragging my feet. I appeared in Agrabah, Xion turning to look at me with concern. "Are you sure your alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured. I'm not sure why I lied. I guess it was because she had just gotten back and I didn't want to trouble her anymore. I summoned my Keyblade, thinking of how it seemed more difficult to use. It almost seemed heavy. Then again, I felt heavier, too.

Xion sprinted towards the small Heartless which had gathered as I walked towards them slowly. By the time I got there, she had already killed them all off, a widespread smile on her face. By the time we had reached the Cave of Wonders, I hadn't killed a single Heartless. We stopped in a round room made of stone, seeing the door shaped like a keyhole on the opposite side of the room sealed shut.

"I guess it's a dead end," I sighed, turning to head back.

"No, I remember this," she said, closing her eyes. What did she remember? She fell to her knees suddenly.

"Xion!" I cried, a hand on he shoulder. I knelt down beside her, her eyes opening slowly. She stared up at me for a minute, her face only inches away.

"You look just like him," she said softly, smiling slightly.

"Who?" I asked. Then the Heartless appeared. It spun constantly, it's spiked armor making it invulnerable. Xion stood abruptly, charging after it and defeating it in one slice.

"How… How did I do that?" she asked herself quietly. "Where did that power come fro-" she stopped, turning to face me. I quickly straightened from my position of my hands on my knees, trying to catch a moment's rest. "Oh…" she sighed. What was she so worried about?

"Are you really, really okay?" she asked as we ate our ice cream on the clock tower alone.

"Okay, your starting to freak me out now," I laughed.

"Why?" she asked.

"You constantly asking if I'm okay. I said I'm fine. Besides, you never worry about me," I grinned.

"Yes I do," she huffed. "All the time…"

"Hey, it's my job to worry about you, right?" I asked, Xion looking at me curiously. "I was placed in charge of you, right? Just like Axel's in charge of me. He can worry about me," I laughed.

"I can worry about you too," she sighed. She grinned, beginning to laugh. "I wonder who's in charge of Axel."

"You know, I've never thought of that... It's probably someone tough enough to handle him," I said, laughing. "Like Larxene!"

"We should ask him next time," she laughed. I almost wished that Axel was there with us. My smile faded once I remembered. "What?"

"Nothing," I sighed.

"What is it? Did you two have a fight or something?" Xion asked.

"That jerk…" I sighed.

"So you did have a fight? And now he's a jerk?" she asked. I could hear the suppressed laugh in her voice.

"He didn't have to attack you," I sighed, looking at my blank ice cream stick.

"If he didn't, I wouldn't be sitting here with you right now," she smiled. She wasn't hurt, and he brought her back. I think I forgave Axel at that moment.

**Xion's Point of View**

"Axel!" I shouted, seeing him in the halls.

"What?" he asked, a bit unhappy to see me, it seemed.

"I… I just…" I stumbled over my own words. He didn't seem like he wanted to chat, so I jumped to my point. "It seems like Roxas gets tired whenever he uses the Keyblade. I was wondering if you knew anything about it…"

"You know him better than me," he said, glancing at me. "Besides, you should be the one to know, of all people."

"What do you mean? I- I don't know," I said, hanging my head.

"Come on, it's not like you were built without common sense," he sighed. I stared at him, shocked. "Hey, don't look so surprised. You already knew you were a Replica. The puppet who's original purpose was to duplicate Roxas's powers. If he's getting weaker and you're getting stronger… Well, your just borrowing a little more than you oughta' be."

"What should I do, then?" I asked desperately. I sure didn't know. I just knew that if it continued any longer, I knew I'd kill him. I bit my lip.

"I can't make the decision for you," he said. I glanced up. He smiled. "Your no puppet in my book. You're my friend- mine and Roxas's. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah…" I smiled. I still didn't know what to do. "Can I ask you one last thing?"

"What's that?"

"I saw a boy today that looks just like Roxas," I sighed. "Is he who I think he is?"

* * *

Just so you know, the 'other two' he was talking about in his dreams at the beginning were Donald and Goofy, but I definitely didn't want to say that. (x]) (Sorry, I hate them.)

Oh, and you know when Xion fell down in front of the Keyhole door? Rofl, I was like 'Wow, Roxas. Way to ruin a moment.' Yeah, even I thought that when I was typing it up. He was like, 'Who? -oblivious of how close they are-' (xp) Then again, Xion didn't help with the 'you look just like him'. -Roxas gets jealous- 'Who?' (I could see both) (XD)


	19. Forever

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Forever**_

"Morning, Xion," I greeted as I entered the Gray Area.

"Morning…" She seemed a bit down. I wondered why.

"Hey, Xion. Later do you-"

"I gotta' go," she sighed, half-running away. Then Saïx interrupted my thoughts as I tried to figure out what was wrong with Xion.

"How are you feeling, Roxas?" he asked, a stern look on his face- same as always. Was her really asking me this?

"Same as always," I mumbled.

"I have a special mission for you and your Keyblade. A giant Heartless has surfaced in Halloween Town. Eliminate it at once."

"Sure," I said, wondering how this mission was any different from any other.

"Roxas, are you sure you want to do this?" Axel asked.

"Huh? Well, why not?"

"I mean, you're not feeling your best, are you?" he asked. Was he trying to keep me from going on the mission or something?

"Well, I'll be okay," I sighed. Later I wished I hadn't said that- that I just said I wasn't up to it today. "Well, I'll see you later?"

"Yeah…" Axel sighed.

"I wonder what Xion's so upset about. I'll have to ask her when I'm done here," I thought, sighing as I entered Halloween Town.

I didn't spot any small Heartless along the way, so I quickly tracked down the Heartless mentioned. It definitely took me by surprise, appearing so close to me in the Graveyard without me noticing first. It looked pretty fierce. I cast a few spells before slicing it with my Keyblade multiple times. It's claws gave me several deep cuts along the way as well. I think I was almost finished, the Heartless was too strong.

"This is it, all or nothing," I said under my breath, charging in one last time. Suddenly Axel appeared, blocking my and the Heartless's attacks with his Chakrams.

"STOP! Both of you!" he cried. I peered around him, seeing as how the giant Heartless had vanished. On the other side of Axel stood Xion, peeking around at me and just as surprised.

"Xion!" I cried.

"Roxas! What… What are you doing here?" she stuttered. "The Heartless I was fighting- it was you?"

"This mission was a setup," Axel sighed.

"What?" I asked, putting away my Keyblade.

"It was rigged, just so you two would fight each other."

"Me and Xion? But…"

"They would do that? …" Xion said, hanging her head.

"Brain freeze," Xion laughed, eating her ice cream. For the first time in several weeks, we were all together at the clock tower.

"Been a while since we hung out like this, huh?" I asked, grinning- trying to forget what had happened earlier today.

"Well, we have out share of drama," Axel sighed. "Hey, I just remembered- did you guys know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?" Xion and I glanced at each other, trying to smother our laughs. I shook my head to let her know I forgot to bring it again today, her response 'Oh well' by a pat on the shoulder.

"Really? For what?" Xion asked, pretending to be oblivious.

"Once you finish you ice cream, check the stick. It might say 'Winner'."

"So what do you win?" I asked, pretending not to know. The old woman tells both me and Xion every time we buy ice cream. Of course we know.

"Heh, beats me," he said, grinning.

"Hah, you don't know?" I asked.

"It's gotta' be something good if you're a 'Winner'!" he replied. I clapped my hand over my mouth, Xion doing the same. We had to laugh at that.

"Right," I choked out eventually. Xion could hold it in anymore.

"Heh heh heh…" Her laughter died as Axel gave her a look. "Wow, the sun sure is beautiful," she said, quickly changing the subject. "I know we've seen a lot of sunsets, but this one puts them all to shame. If only things could stay like this."

"What if we all just ran off?" I said, thinking of how nice it would be to get away from the Organization. I could have hurt her…

"What?" Xion asked, surprised.

"The three of us," I said, smiling at the sun. "Then we could always be together."

"We don't have any place to run," she sighed, shaking her head. Axel still remained silent.

"I know," I sighed. "I was just thinking out loud…"

"Well, even if things change, we'll never be apart-"

"As long as we remember each other, right?" Xion interrupted, grinning. "Don't worry, Axel. We have your speech memorized."

"Just checking," he grinned back.

"I'll have these moments memorized for a long time," she smiled, looking at me and Axel. "Forever, I hope."

"Me too," I added. "Forever…"


	20. Goodbye

Next chapter starts the twist! Plus a special 3 chapter update! (Only because it would otherwise be a cliffhanger, and I hate when that happens!) (X])

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Goodbye**_

"Well, this is an unlikely trio, huh?" Axel said as I entered the Gray Area the next day. "Me, Xigbar and Xion."

"What is it, Axel? Afraid I'll slow you down?" Xigbar grinned, his scar creasing.

"No, I didn't mean that. Touchy, touchy," Axel laughed. "Not every day we go on a mission with Number II himself, huh Xion?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

"Get to your mission, Roxas," Saïx said from behind me.

"Hey, I can't trade with Xigbar, can I?" I asked.

"Hah, what a childish notion. Of course not," he said, crossing his arms. "Do you still need Axel to walk you through?"

"No, I didn't mean I wanted to trade because of him, I wanted to trade because-" I sighed. "Never mind."

"They can see to their own mission. You hurry up and see to your own," he growled.

"Just me and Heartless today," I sighed, stepping onto Twilight Town brick. "Well, better get it done…"

**Xion's Point of View**

I had to leave. Immediately. And Xigbar just had to get in the way. He shot me with his Arrow Guns as I held up my Keyblade and blocked them.

"Of all the faces…" he mused, careful to keep me at a safe distance, Arrow Guns aimed. "Why do I see you face?"

"Shut up!" I cried, Axel crossing his arms nearby, doing nothing to stop me or help Xigbar.

"And you always stare at me like that," he laughed. "Murderous! Haha!" I sprinted away, faster than I thought possible. Xigbar stopped laughing then. He glanced around quickly, eventually seeing me right be his side. I slashed my Keyblade at him, causing him to fall to the ground. I looked up at Axel, forming a Dark Corridor.

"Axel, I'm sorry," I murmured.

"Are you insane?" he said, staring at me with surprise.

"Please… let me go. I have to do this, or else…" I trailed off. "Please, Axel. You have to take care of Roxas."

"But how are you…"

"Please!" I cried, shutting my eyes tightly. I glanced up as Axel nodded his head towards the Dark Corridor. "Thank you," I whispered, running away before he changed his mind.

**Roxas's Point of View**

I entered the Gray Area in the middle of a conversation between Saïx, Axel and Xigbar. Where was Xion?

"This old man needs to get his eyes checked. (Well, eye.) And besides, she wasn't taking no for an answer!" Axel said.

"Well, I will agree to that, considering how I couldn't stop her either," Xigbar said, turning to glance at me.

"Now we're only let with the one we can't use…" Saïx muttered, staring at me.

"What's going on? Where's Xion?" I asked, Saïx walking away.

"She flew the coop… Flame-i-locks here couldn't clip her wings," Xigbar grinned, walking away and into the halls.

"What happened?" I asked Axel.

"Look… Nothing," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"What happened to Xion!"

"She… Xion is a puppet, smoke and mirrors. A mirror that reflects you. It was only a matter of time before the mirror shattered."

"Not you, too!" I cried. "Xion is Xion!" I didn't want to listen to any more of what he had to say if he treated her like that. I turned to leave the room, pausing only to add, "She's our friend- yours and mine. She's not a puppet!"

**Xion's Point of View**

I stepped out of the Dark Corridor. I wasn't sure why I went to Beast's Castle, but I did. What surprised me was who was there.

"Riku!" I cried.

"Did you find the right answer?"

"Yeah, I did," I smiled. "I'm on the verge of losing everything I care about and… I can't let that happen… Tell me what I need to do."

"Go to Twilight Town," he nodded. "You'll find a girl there by the name of Naminé."

"Naminé," I sighed. "What's she like?"

"You'll find out," he assured. "I don't think you'll have too much trouble tracking her down."

"Alright. Thanks, Riku," I nodded, smiling. "Goodbye…"


	21. Sora

This is it guys! Let the twist begin! Oh, and I'm quite behind on my chapters now so I'll be going back to a chapter per day or so. Also, I'm adding a few more chapters than I though because of you guys asking for some romance, so I'll be laying it on double or triple eventually (X])

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Sora**_

I decided to run to the clock tower instead of my room. I sat with my feet dangling over the open air, my thoughts on Axel.

"How could even he call Xion a puppet?" My throat felt tight, so I decided to block it out. Just like I did when I though Axel was dead so long ago. The first time I questioned the purpose and necessity of a heart.

I couldn't. I couldn't block it out. Why?

I stared out into the Twilight Town forest, looking at the Old Mansion's locked gate. Standing out sharply against the light stone walls surrounding the Old Mansion was a black figure. I looked carefully. It was an Organization cloak.

"Xion!" I cried, jumping from the wall and forming a Dark Corridor. I stepped out and ran towards her as she pointed her Keyblade at the lock. The lock fell off, the black gate opening slowly. "Xion!" I called again, now that I was here.

"Roxas? Roxas!" she said, surprised as she turned on her heel. She stepped back a pace. I froze. This was just like last time. "I'm not going back. Not again," she said firmly, her face showing the struggle in her head.

"… I won't make you go back." Even I was surprised that I said that.

"Wha… You won't?" she said hopefully, taking a step closer.

"No, it's your decision," I sighed.

"I… I'm here to find Naminé," she said, nervously folding and refolding her hands. "She… She is the one who controls Sora's memories."

"What?"

"Sora… The connection between you and me… You're his Nobody, and I'm a failed duplicate of you…"

"What are… you talking about?" I said slowly. "A duplicate of me? You don't look like me."

"Vexen created me, using Sora's memories. I'm a failed duplicate of your power over the Keyblade and a failed duplicate of Kairi, the girl with the red hair that looks like me."

"I never told you about seeing her," I said, watching Xion carefully.

"I've seen her, too. I'm afraid that Sora is asleep and he can't wake up… Unless he gets all of his memories back…" she explained sadly. "And since I'm made of his memories… I have to disappear for him to wake up. I chose to return to him. You don't have to if you don't want to, it's your choice."

"I don't get any of this," I said, laughing nervously. "This… isn't true, is it?"

"It is." She looked at her feet. "You told me about those dreams and visions a while ago. They're Sora's memories."

"So I have to disappear, too, for Sora to wake up."

"… Yes, I think so… Riku told me to come here, to find Naminé so that I can return to Sora…"

"Riku… Riku! He's the impostor, Sora's other friend!" I cried as the realization struck me. Xion looked at up me.

"Yeah…" she sighed. We stood for a moment without saying anything.

"Why…" I said, Xion glancing at me again. "Why does Sora have to wake up? Can't he just stay asleep forever? And we could go on living…"

"It's up to you if you want to wake him up or not. But I know that I was never supposed to exist, anyway. Sora is. I came from him, and I want to return to him," she said, looking up at me, the saddest look on her face that I'd ever seen.

"I… Sora won't wake up unless he has all of his memories, right?" Xion nodded. "Then, what if I didn't return to Sora but you did! He wouldn't wake up and you'd be gone for nothing!"

"I trust that you'll make a decision that's best for everyone," she said, turning and passing through the gate.

"Xion!" I called after her. She kept walking. "Xion, I can't let you do this," I said, walking beside her. "If your gone…" My throat tightened, keeping my from saying more.

She opened the door.


	22. Hearts

Okay, guys. In this chapter I've put a little bit of 'the romance'. (X3) You'd better be appreciative. (=_=) Can I hear 'Reviews'! (x]) (Yeah, this story is getting a bit more dramatic than I intended, but whatever.)

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Hearts**_

She entered the Mansion, myself following behind. Why? Why can't I block anything out anymore? I have to get Xion to stop this! Now!

"Xion…" I managed, stopping in my tracks. My voice sounded deeper and thick as I forced words out, my head hanging, fists clenched and eyes closed. She turned around.

"… Yes?" she asked, her voice shaking as much as mine.

"I can't change your mind, can I?"

"No, you can't," she said, shaking her head.

"I don't want you to disappear…" She hung her head and turned. "… In vain." She froze, turning back around sharply.

"You mean…" I nodded. If she was gone…

My eyes opened in surprise as she ran into me, arms sliding around my back.

"Thanks…" she whispered, cheek against my shoulder. I smiled, my hand on the back of her head as she shook, the other around her back. A half-hour must have passed, Xion finally pulling back to face me. "Ready to go see Naminé?" she asked quietly. I nodded. She stood for a moment, turned and began to walk again. I followed by her side. She walked up the right set of stairs, both the right and left sets curving around the edges of the room and meeting at a single door on the second story. I followed Xion as she wove through hallway after long, confusing hallway.

Eventually she stopped at a particularly different door. This one had a crayon drawing taped to the front of two people in dark clothes walking through a door. Was it supposed to be me and Xion? Xion opened the door after studying the picture. She entered, a plain white room just inside. In the center were two white chairs at either end of the rectangular white table, a white vase filled with flowers as a centerpiece. We didn't pay much attention, however, because Xion and I looked at all of the different pictures across the walls, very little wall left to see.

There were crayon pictures of covering one wall of the room of what appeared to be the boy in red- Sora, and his friends, Riku and Kairi. Another wall was covered in pictures that appeared to be of Axel, Xion and I. The last two walls were completely blank.

"Hello, Xion, Roxas." We turned in unison to see where the small voice came from. In the chair at the other side of the room sat a girl with light blond hair pulled over her right shoulder and blue eyes the same color as Xion's, wearing a plain white dress. She stood, setting her box of crayons on the table, her light blue sandals tapping on the floor as she approached us.

"Naminé," Xion smiled. "It's good to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too." She took another look at me before facing Xion again. "Has he decided?"

"Yes. He's coming too," Xion answered.

"Would you follow me please? I'll take you to him." We followed her back through the halls, eventually heading down a set of white stairs. Unlike the ones we walked up to get there, these stairs formed a long, descending hallway of sorts. "Here he is," she said eventually. We had ended up in a basement, though it looked exactly like the rest of the Mansion. Xion and I entered, staring at the strange clear pod the Sora sat in, suspended in midair.

"This is Sora," Xion and I mumbled.

"Yes. And if you both are ready, you could… say your goodbyes." I had the impression that Naminé was a heartless girl who didn't care about anyone but herself and clearing her name for ruining Sora's memories but... Then I glanced at her, seeing her troubled expression as she hugged her sketchbook. She looked so worried, so sad that she had to do this to us. I smiled, letting her know that this was our choice, that we were okay. She nodded, turning and sitting in a corner, taking out a pencil and beginning to draw.

I turned back to Xion, who was already staring at me. Her eyes were shining. She blinked, tears finding their way through her eyelashes, running down her cheeks. She hugged me again, shaking worse that before. Her breaths were short and sharp as her grip around me tightened. "Thanks, Roxas. You've always been by my side, helping me through everything. I just wish I could say goodbye to Axel, too."

"Yeah, he's always stood up for us. I'm glad he was our friend. I'm glad you're my friend, too. I… I guess we're ready, Namié." I turned to the corner that I had seen her sit down in. She was staring at us, wide eyed. She stood up slowly, approaching us quietly. As she neared us, she looked at our faces carefully.

"Are you… crying?" Xion and I touched our faces, pulling our fingers away to see the tips covered in the shining tears.

"Heh, I guess so," I replied.

"But your… a Nobody and a Nobody Replica," she said slowly, the look of shock plastered on her face. "Nobodies don't have hearts, and can't feel. They can only pretend to feel, using their memories from before they were a Nobody."

"Right," Xion said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"But you two don't have memories of before, because Sora is still alive! How…" Xion and I glanced at each other, just as surprised.

"So how are we…" I glanced at Xion again who shrugged, shaking her head. Naminé reached out, placing her palms over our chests, closing her eyes. She pulled back, looking at her hands.

"Either I'm crazy or… I felt your hearts beating."

"But, we don't have hearts," Xion said, laughing nervously. "Do we…?"


	23. Last Words

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Last Words**_

"I… I don't know," Naminé stuttered. She ran back to her sketchpad that was left in the corner. She drew something out and looked it carefully. "You've begun to develop hearts of you own, just as you two and Axel have created memories of your own."

We exchanged glances.

"So what does that mean? You know, to us?" Xion asked.

"Well… To you, Xion, it could mean the difference between life and death," Naminé replied.

"And to Roxas…?"

"Not as severe a difference as it means to you. You are made of Sora's memories. His memories are your essence- what you are. But now that you and Roxas have memories of your own… You might be born again."

"What do you mean by 'born again'? Like, reincarnation?" Xion asked.

"No, reincarnation isn't possible. But now that you have your own memories, I might be able to return Sora's memories and allow you to live off of your current memories. Then you will be just like a normal Nobody."

"So where do our hearts come into this?" I questioned.

"Your hearts are what will allow you to be 'born again'. Do you remember when you were born, Roxas? You just appeared out of thin air in front of this Mansion's gates. This is how you will appear after Sora's memories return to him. There's only one problem- once you are 'reborn', you will have no memories of this life, just like you didn't remember your lives as Sora with the exception of dreams and visions. Instead of seeing Sora, Riku and Kairi, you'll see yourselves and Axel. And you still won't know who it is that your looking at.

"But you'll have a new life- this time there's no Organization, and eventually you'll be able to feel just like a normal person. You'll get to live your lives, without anyone pulling your strings, making you their puppets." Xion's head lowered as Naminé said the last line, only reminding her of how the Organization mistreated her. I placed a hand around her back and on her side, pulling her a bit closer as she rested the side of her head on my shoulder. Naminé smiled, hugging her sketchpad.

"If that's all that was left to explain, then… We return Sora's memories, same as before. The only difference is that we get new lives where we don't remember anything instead of disappearing," I said, Xion seeming to be okay now. Naminé nodded, opening her sketchbook.

"Then I guess we're ready," Xion sighed, turning to face me. Naminé began to draw. "Roxas…" I looked away from Naminé to see Xion, smiling and extending her hands. I took them, smiling back. "I find it hard to believe that I'll forget that name," she laughed, tears returning to her eyes. "Maybe we'll be friends again in the next life we're about to begin."

"Yeah," I nodded, my vision burring with tears of my own. "Best friends." Xion seemed a bit surprised. A look of confidence crossed her face as our feet began to disappear, the effect creeping slowly upward.

"I know what I want my last words to be." I listened carefully. " 'Axel, Roxas and Xion- Three Inseparable Best Friends'."

" 'Axel, Roxas and Xion- Three Inseparable Best Friends'," I repeated. Xion's grip on my hands tightened, as did mine. Our last words were obviously perfect.

Axel and Xion were my only friends. Best friends.

My eyes had already begun to disappear, black nothingness taking place of sight. But it was okay. The last thing I saw was Xion's smiling face.

* * *

So since Roxas had Twilight Town clothes already, I made some up for Xion, too! It's not exactly my best picture, but if you wanna see it, go to (Okay, this all runs together:)

www.

The ForceStory

.webs

.com

/SanctuaryXion

.htm


	24. Name

I'm sure that this chapter isn't what most people expected, but bear with me! (And don't worry, Sanctuary WILL END HAPPILY (since I never write stories with the happiest endings) (=3) Oh, and I was stuck when I said that I'd go back to 1 chapter a day, but as I was falling asleep inspiration struck me and I will update 2 chaps per day again! Yay!

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Name**_

Hayner, Pence and Olette were my only friends. Best friends.

But let's just say that it didn't start off that way.

I remember the day I was born. I wasn't thinking clearly, but I still remembered. I noticed… my presence. My existence. I was… alive. I think I was laying on a green couch in a small room. I didn't know what to do- in fact, I didn't know anything. So I just laid there.

I suddenly heard something. Wait- I heard something. I could hear? Okay…? There was suddenly whispering all around me. Wait, I could understand what they were saying. I wondered how I was able to do things like that. And then I opened my eyes and discovered the power of sight for the first time- or, at least, so I thought at that time. I saw three people.

One was a boy with messy light blond hair and a camouflage shirt, pair of pants and tennis shoes. The second was a girl with brown hair that stuck out on either side of her head- with the exception of two strands from the back which rested on her shoulders- and wore an orange shirt with white flower patterns and white capris. The last was another boy who was a bit husky, his brown hair held up by a navy headband, a red shirt that depicted a black skeleton dog pointing towards three bones, alongside it written in white text read "DOGSTREET".

The whispering stopped as the three figures hovering over me noticed that my eyes were open. One jammed his thumb behind him as the girl left in the direction. She came back with a broom, handing it to the blond kid.

"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU HOBO!" he cried, swinging the broom's handle and hitting me hard in the stomach.

"Get 'im, Hayner!" the other boy cheered as I fell from the sofa I was just in. I wondered later how I had gotten there.

"S-Stop it!" I cried as he continued to beat me in the head.

"I SAID GET OUT!" he yelled back, still not stopping. I think that was when I experienced my first emotion- Anger.

"Enough!" I yelled, catching the broom's handle in my left hand as he went for another swing. I could tell from their faces that they weren't expecting that. What I was surprised by was that the girl ran forward, placing a hand on my shoulder and bending down to were I sat on the floor. She quickly slipped the broom out of my hand, tossing it aside.

"Hayner!" she scolded, turning her back to me. "I wouldn't have brought you the broom if I knew you were gonna' beat him with it! (I figured you were just gonna' poke him or something.)" She glanced up, tapping her chin. "Of course, I guess I should have known better by now, huh?"

"So who are you, anyway?" Hayner asked after the girl and other boy made sure I was okay, the boy apologizing for cheering Hayner on.

"Uh…" I paused, glancing at the other two in the room whose names I had yet to discover.

"Let's put it this way," the husky brunette said. "I'm Pence, that's Olette, and she already said that this was Hayner. And now, your turn," he said, gesturing towards me with one hand while smiling. Seeing his hands, I glanced at my own. My left hand way empty since Olette took the broom away. In my right hand was a slip of paper, a bit of sticky, glue-like residue on one side of it, holding it in place. I took the small square of paper off of my palm and into my left hand, reading it out loud.

"Roxas…"

"Okay, Roxas. You're a bit strange," Hayner stated, a finger under his chin. I gave him a dull look. "But I think your okay!"

And so, our friendship began.

Soon I was in a house of my own, just like my friends. It didn't cost me anything, but I did have to get a job of sorts- helping Hayner, Pence and Olette's parents who had paid for it. I basically did chores around their houses, but I didn't complain. I guess I kind of felt like I owed them- the least I could do was respect them.

I looked at the wall in my new room, seeing myself for the first time- again, at least what I thought was the first time back then. I walked closer to the mirror as I examined my dark blond spikes, my deep blue eyes, my black and white clothes. My eyes lingered on the charm attached to the zipper of my black jacket- that is, the jacket over my white T-shirt and under my open white jacket. The silver charm was an "x" with sharp arrows at it's tips. It seemed the slightest bit familiar, but I didn't know why.

I was tired. I removed my two jackets, tennis shoes, socks, rings, bracelet and the white pants legs that attached to my black shorts- which went just past my knees. I crawled into bed wearing these shorts and my white T-shirt with black sleeves and collar, five black spikes near the sleeves giving the appearance of a star-shape.

I fell asleep, only to have a dream about myself and two other people up at the clock tower, eating the Sea-Salt ice cream. One was a guy with spiked back red hair. The other was a girl with short black hair. They acted like they were my friends, although I've never seen them before.

The sun rose in Twilight Town the next day, filtering through the window whose frame touched the wooden frame of my bed. I yawned, kicking away the thin sheet-like blanket. I jumped from my bed and placed my layers of clothing back on.

I snapped the four buttons on each of my white pants legs back together with my black shorts. I slid my arms into my black sleeveless jacket, zipping up the zipper in the front that stopped just before reaching the high collar. I placed my white jacket over my black one. Although it also had a zipper, there was no charm attached and I left it unzipped, the collar pleated to expose the small bit of the interior which was red- the rest of the interior plain black. It had a thin black outline around it's short sleeves, two rows of black and white blocks forming an unending pattern. This checkered pattern created three lines- one wrapped around each of the seams of the sleeves and the other around my back and towards the front just below my chest. I placed my checkered bracelet outlined in black back on my left wrist, my black ring on my left index finder and my white ring on my left middle finger. I slipped on my white socks, each of it's heels decorated to look like a large gray star similar to the sleeves of my T-shirt. Lastly, I tugged on my tennis shoes, black with white soles and dark red straps in place of laces.

I did this every morning.

I went back to the place I was born- Hayner, Pence and Olette's hide out- Under the Tracks. I was told that none of the kids in Twilight Town had to go to "school" because of "summer break". So I hung out with my friends here for my "first" several weeks of life.


	25. Struggle

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Struggle**_

" 'Struggle Tournament'?" I asked.

"Yeah, haven't you heard of it?" Hayner asked, leaning against the wall beside the small worn sofa that Pence and Olette sat on, myself sitting on the armrest.

"No," I asked, glancing at Pence and Olette. They nodded as if they already knew.

"It's a tournament where you take a bat and try to defeat your opponent!" he grinned. Sounded like his kind of game.

"Well, how do you beat them?" I asked. Hayner wasn't the best at explaining things.

"It depends. I think this year, people have been saying that the hosts will supply you with a helmet and armor that have Velcro covering them. They attach several round Velcro balls and you have to knock away your opponent's with the bat before they can detach all of yours," Pence explained. I nodded, thinking I understood well enough.

"So obviously, Hayner wants to enter again this year," Olette said, turning away from Hayner to roll her eyes. I grinned.

"Yeah, and I'm finally gonna' beat the crap out of Seifer!" Hayner cheered, posing dramatically by placing his foot on the spare armrest, hands on his hips. Pence and Olette tried to smother a laugh when I spoke up, silencing them.

"Who's Seifer?"

"… Are you kidding!" Hayner said, so shocked he almost fell backwards from his pose, only to catch himself just in time. "Seifer and his gang are-" he cut off his sentence to growl, clenching his fist. I could have sworn I saw fire flare up in his eyes.

"Seifer, Rai and Fuu are just a gang of bullies," Olette huffed, crossing her arms.

"They're tough and mean and- well, just not good company to be around," Pence laughed nervously.

"So… You want to get even with him by beating him at a game?" I asked, realizing how stupid it sounded.

"Yeah!" Hayner cried, resuming his dramatic pose. I couldn't hold back a laugh.

Somehow he was able to convince me to join with him. Oh, that's right- he informed me about the prize money.

Hayner and I agreed that (as Hayner put it) 'when' one of us won, that person would keep the trophy. The we'd split the prize money between our gang of friends. We'd each buy a train ticket so that we'd get to go to the beach and then, of course, keep what was left over.

It sounded like a good plan to me. I had never been to the beach before. I wanted to go.

I heard seven chimes which indicated seven o'clock from the clock tower - our second hangout. We didn't go there often, but when we did, I always felt a bit empty inside. Like I was forgetting something important- really important. I disregarded these feelings, considering how they went away soon after I left.

The group dispersed at seven each night, going to each of our houses. I opened my door, snatching up a snack to finish off before bed. I finished it as I walked up a set of stairs in my fairly empty house and into my crowded room. The floor was cluttered with ice cream sticks, none of which said 'Winner'. I kicked them into a pile, grabbing them all in one hand and tossing them into the small white trash can across the room. I gathered up the clothes I had piled on my bed, tucking them neatly into my closet- I hated when my room got messy. I yawned, adding my top layers of clothes to the closet.

Throwing my sheets into the air, I rolled into my bed, my blanket falling over me. I wasn't sure why, but I was incredibly tired that day. Maybe from the excitement and anticipation of the Struggle Tournament. I slept deeply that night, dreaming again of me and my 'friends'. I was startled awake by a loud, nearby scream.

"Roxas!"


	26. The Journal

Yeah, Roxas takes this a lot better than Xion later.

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**The Journal**_

I tried to throw away my blanket, only to tangle it around my feet the more I struggled. I was still half-asleep, jumping out of bed, only to fall flat on my face. My feet were still hung in the covers.

"What! What is it!" I cried, lifting my face from the floor. Three sets of shoes sat in front of me.

"You didn't show up at the hangout, so we figured we'd find you here!" Olette said happily as I rolled on my back, angrily jerking my feet out of the knot that used to be my bed sheet.

"Yep! You overslept!" Pence added.

"And you had to scare me to death, why?" I asked, drowsily untangling the blanket and making up my bed.

" 'Cuz it's funny," Hayner smirked, jumping past me to sit on my bed.

"I just made it-" I sighed, walking to my closet. "Never mind." I tossed the black jacket over my T-shirt, snapping the buttons to my pants together and putting on my bracelet and rings.

"Hah, sorry," Pence laughed. "Hayner convinced us to join in too."

"He's very persuasive," Olette laughed. "At least, when he wants to be."

I pulled out my white jacket, only to find it a bit heavy. It unfolded, a book flopping onto the floor.

"What this, Roxas? A diary?" Hayner laughed, making a girly voice.

"Uh… I have no idea…?" I bent over to pick it up from the floor, only to have Hayner swipe it away just before I could reach it. "Hey! If it was in my closet, that makes it mine." I attempted to steal it back from him, only to have him stop me by raising his foot. I reached my arm as far as I could, his foot against my stomach and keeping me just out of reach.

" 'Day 1: Lord Xemnas said to keep a journal, but I have no idea what to write in it'," Hayner read aloud. I stopped struggling, joining Pence and Olette in the floor grudgingly. We sat and listened to him intently. "Roxas, you wrote this. How could you not know what it is?"

"I didn't write it," I answered confusedly.

"Yeah, you did. You wrote your name on the first page in huge print. See?" He turned the book around, showing me the first and second pages. On the second page was the first entry that he was just reading from. On page one in large print read, 'Roxas, Number XIII'.

"Huh, I don't remember writing it," I said slowly.

"Maybe you have amnesia or something!" Pence said excitedly.

"You make it sound like a good thing," I said dully, hanging my head.

"Maybe he does remember and he's just trying to hide a secret he wrote in here!" Hayner cried.

"Well? Are you?" Olette asked.

"No-" I said, interrupted by Hayner.

"Hey, shut up guys. I found something. 'Axel left, so I did today's mission with No. XIV, Xion. Xion wore the Organization cloak's hood up, so I couldn't see anything under it. After the mission was finished, I went back to the clock tower alone," Hayner read, pausing to turn the page. "Day 24: Xion and I were assigned another mission together today. This time, I was walking away and towards the clock tower when a voice stopped me. It was Xion. "Roxas… Can I… call you Roxas?" I was surprised, to say the least. Xion had never spoken before. I replied yes, watching No. XIV walk into the Dark Corridor and disappear. Day 26: Just before we left for our mission, Xion entered the Grey Area and removed her hood. Yes, her hood. Xion is a girl! She has black hair that reaches the bottom of her ears, the bangs combed slightly towards the left, touching the top of her deep blue eyes.' Roxas here must like this girl a lot if he was trying so hard to get the Journal back!" Hayner said, laughing hysterically.

"Well, do you? Does she live in Twilight Town, too?" Olette said happily, clapping her hands and literally bouncing with excitement.

"Sounds like a fantasy story to me," Pence said, tapping his chin. "Roxas could have been making up a story."

"Well?" Hayner asked, leaning forward. "Which is it? Huh?" Everyone turned to stare at me.

"… What?" I finally asked.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Olette asked sympathetically, her hand on my shoulder.

"Huh?" I asked, touching the tips of a few fingers to my eyes. I pulled them away, seeing the water. "I'm crying? Why am I crying?"

"I dunno'! You're the one who's crying! You should be telling us, not the other way around!" Hayner said, looking a bit surprised by my reaction. He set the journal on the bed and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, wearing a mix of confusion, worry and boredom. Pence offered me a handkerchief from his pocket. I waved my hand in dismissal.

"Are you okay?" Olette asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, wiping the sleeve of my white jacket across my eyes.

"You don't seem fine," Pence said from behind me as I walked towards my window.

"Well, I am!" I said. I actually grinned. "Why am I crying!" I laughed. They all looked at me as if I were insane. I turned and picked up the journal, sitting beside Hayner and began reading for myself, staring at page one.


	27. Remembrance

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Remembrance**_

I closed the journal- my journal- at about eight o'clock. Hayner, Pence and Olette had hung out at their hideout without me that day, as I had suggested. I placed the journal on a nightstand beside my bed neatly. I had been reading it all day.

I laid on my back, tears streaming constantly ever since I heard Hayner read the first word out loud. Only now did I know why the tears came.

Axel. The Organization.

Xion.

I had forgotten all of it. The only knowledge I had of it were the far-too-few words from my journal, my entire past poorly described. It wasn't as if I read a sentence, remembering each word as I read it like an old book. It was like reading a new book- not expecting what happened next, not remembering it even in the faintest sense.

This is why the tears streamed down my cheeks, seemingly never-ending. I stared at the ceiling, an arm behind my head. I found peace in my dreams of myself and my old friends.

It wasn't as if I didn't laugh with Hayner and the others, but… I couldn't remember laughing with my old friends. I never wrote anything about being happy with them.

The sunlight hit my eyes, slowly waking me up. I turned onto my side, staring at my journal. My past. That's when my day brightened considerably.

This was my past. I was there! Maybe Xion and Axel are alive just like me, amnesia keeping us all from searching for each other! I jumped from bed excitedly, tossing on my clothes and snatching up a bit of breakfast. I hit the door, journal in hand and sprinted towards the hangout in the dead-end alleyway. I flung the torn red curtain aside, jumping onto the worn green couch. Olette soon came, followed by Pence and Hayner.

"So what happened to you yesterday? Did find out anything knew?"

"Yeah, I did write this and I think I have amnesia or something," I said, holding up the journal.

"How do you figure?" Pence asked, sitting on the crates in the opposite corner.

"Well, the first thing I remember is when you guys found me in here," I laughed.

"So why do you seem so happy about this?" Hayner asked.

"Because if I have amnesia, then my friends might, too. Which would explain why Xion and Axel haven't found me or each other! Even if that's wrong, then that was still the idea that made me decide to go looking for them!" I cheered, raising my arms in excitement.

"Ooh! I'll come, too!" Pence cheered.

"Yeah! Let's all go with you and look around Twilight Town for your old friends!" Olette suggested happily. Hayner nodded in approval.

"It's gonna' be so strange to meet up with old friends that I have no memory of meeting before… Oh, and besides Axel and Xion, we also need to be on the lookout for Naminé," I said as we wandered around Twilight Town.

"And your sure that your didn't just make up the story, right?" Pence asked.

"Yeah, I'm not that creative," I laughed. "And even if I was, I wouldn't make myself act so stupid for so long. 'Hazy', I think I called it." I flipped open to the first page, extending my arm so that Pence could see for himself what I had mentioned. We wandered about for sometime, suddenly noticing how far down the sun had gotten.

"It's getting late. Maybe we should head back?" Olette said after we had asked another Twilight Town citizen if they knew anything about my friends.

"Let's look over here, and then we can head back," I said, pointing ahead of me.

"N-No!" Hayner shouted.

"What?" I asked, clueless.

"That's Seifer's side of town. His gang hangs out on that side of town. We agreed to stay away from his side if he'd stay off of our side!"

"Well, you guys can head back. Seifer doesn't know I'm with you guys, so it's okay."

"Are you sure? It's not safe over there, especially if your alone!" Olette pleaded for me to stay away.

"I'll be fine. Head back you guys," I grinned, waving them along. They obeyed grudgingly. I turned, taking a deep breath in preparation. I walked down the street, looking at the houses' windows for light. If a light was on, I knew someone was home, and would knock and ask the home owner if they knew Xion, Axel or Naminé.

No lights were on in these houses, making me sweat nervously. I had to find them.


	28. Close

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Close**_

I approached the only house that seemed to have a light. It was dull, but I could faintly see it thought the window. I knocked on the door, swallowing. It creeped me out to be on this side. I would feel much better when I headed home right after this.

The door flew open and I was staring at a guy a few years older than me, extremely buff with a black hat covering a majority of his spiked white hair. He wore a sleeveless shirt that reached his stomach, baggy pants and a white sleeveless jacket that reached his ankles.

"Uh, hi. Do you know a-"

"Do you know who I am?" he growled, cutting me off. "I am Seifer, kid. And I suggest that you get out of my side of town immediately if you have no more business here."

"But I do! I'm looking for-" And he slams the door in my face. I stood frozen in place as I heard several locks click and the binds snap shut on the windows. He looked kinda intimidating, but I wasn't all that scared of threats.

The clock tower chimed six, so I decided to head home, since no one else even seemed to live over there. I went home, journal still tight in my hand. I laid on my bed sideways, my feet still on the floor. Maybe people lived over there, but since Seifer and his gang were such 'bullies' that the others who lived there just locked up a bit early. I decided to search there again tomorrow.

I woke up, slipping on my two jackets, pants legs, bracelet, rings, socks and shoes, flying down the stairs. I figured that I should write my gang a note and tell them that I'd be on Seifer's side of town all day. I was able to find a pencil to write with, but I had no paper.

I opened my journal to the last page- making sure that nothing was written on it- and carefully tore it out. I wrote the note on the back cover. As I wrote the last line, something hit the pencil, making the letter become a sideways line. I erased it, sliding the paper up a bit and finishing the note. I folded the note and slipped it into my pocket.

I wondered what I had hit inside the journal's back cover, so I reopened it. My eye caught a small pocket in the back, same as in the front. It was meant to hold papers, but I could tell that this was something else. I slid my hand into the thin pocket, pulling out a 'Winner' ice cream stick.

I stared a moment, a grin spreading across my face. I had a 'Winner' stick! I paused, my smile fading. This was from my past. I couldn't just give it the old woman at the ice cream stand just to have her throw it away. If I saved it back then, I needed to save it now. I slid it back into the journal, sighing.

I ran to the hangout and left the note unfolded on the sofa. No one was there yet. I turned, walking towards the other side of Twilight Town- Seifer's side.

I had a new system this time. I would knock on the door and hope that someone would come instead of looking for lights. This obviously took much longer, but I had all day today, not just an hour like last time. As I knocked on doors, sometimes I would stand waiting for several minutes, only to leave thinking that the owners must not be home. Occasionally, someone would peek through the window, sigh and open the door. Why were these adults to afraid of Seifer, too? Was he really that bad?

By the end of the day, I had already checked all of the houses for knowledge of my old friends, but non one knew. I kinda figured that was the way this was going to go, but I knew I had to try. I sighed, sitting on a bench nearby.

"It's already five. I might as well head back," I thought as I stood, gripping the journal tighter. Instead of going home, I stopped by the hangout as everyone was leaving.

"Did you find anyone?" Olette asked. I shook my head.

"But I have a few more places left to look," I sighed.

"So… You didn't run into Seifer, did you?" Hayner asked, nervously laughing.

"Yeah, yesterday."

"What!" he cried, taking a step back.

"He didn't do anything," I shrugged, grinning at his fearfulness.

"Dude," he sighed. "You don't know how lucky your are. That was really close call."


	29. Naminé

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Namin**__**é**_

I went home, sitting in bed as I skimmed over the journal pages. There had to be some indication of where they all were…

I found it.

"Hayner! Pence! Olette! I know where to look!" I said proudly as I entered the hangout the next day.

"As long as it's on this side of town, I'll go," Hayner sighed. Pence and Olette nodded.

"Great! It's some place called the 'Old Mansion'. Know where that is?" They paused, thinking.

"Oh," Pence said, sighing. "You have to go through a crack in the Twilight Town's wall and through the forest to get to it. And… The crack is on Seifer's side," he said, hanging his head.

"Sorry, Roxas. Your on your own," Hayner sighed.

"That's okay. At least I know how to get there. Thanks Pence!" I said, turning to leave.

"Don't run into Seifer!" Hayner called helpfully.

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed. I grinned to myself, knowing that Hayner would be worried with my casualty.

I searched for around an hour, finally coming upon the crack. I could fit through easily- in fact, two people could probably fit through at once. I peered through, looking around at the tall, thick tree trunks, the leaves forming something like a roof overhead. Little sunlight filtered through the leaves as I walked past each tree. I decided to go straight ahead, hoping that I would see the mansion around nearby.

As I past the last tree, I was face to face with a long brick wall. I looked to my right, seeing the corner. I looked around it, only to see a similar brick wall, forming this angle. I walked back around, seeing a black gate to the left of where I had appeared from the forest. I walked closer, seeing the gate surrounded by a large lock. I sighed, climbing up and over the gate, heading for the large, decorative front door. I knocked, leaning on the balls of my feet and back to my heels repeatedly as I waited. No one answered.

I tried opening the door, surprised that it was unlocked, unlike the gate. I glanced about after entering, seeing a big, nearly empty room. A door sat about a story above me straight ahead, a platform separating into two sets of stairs. I took the stairs to the right, opening the only door I saw. I wandered hallway after hallway, coming to several doors. I checked behind them all, only to find no one behind them.

One door in particular caught my eye as soon as I turned the corner. Unlike the other doors, this one had a drawing attached to the front. It showed a boy with yellow hair opening a door and going inside.

Was it supposed to be me? I opened the door, going inside just like the picture indicated. I the room sat a table and two chairs, a vase of flowers in the center. I glanced around the room, the walls wallpapered in crayon drawings. I rounded the table, staring at all of the pictures for only a few seconds each so that I might see them all before time to go home in a few hours.

"Roxas," I heard a small voice say. I turned behind me to see a small girl with light blond hair pulled over her right shoulder, her white dress the same color as the blank page she had just begun to draw on. Her blue eyes widened as I stared at her for a few moments. "You don't remember me. Of course not," she said sadly, trying to cover it with a forced laugh.

She wasn't described in my journal, but her name was written on the page after the last one I had written on, as well as 'Old Mansion'. The only other girl that I wrote about was Xion, who I had described.

"… Naminé?" I guessed. Her eyes widened in shock as she tackled me with a hug.

"You remember! Wait," she said, pulling away. "How do you remember?" I held up my journal, allowing her to flip through the pages.

"I was wondering if you knew where Xion and Axel might be," I said as she scanned the first few pages, closing after she had figured out what it was.

"I… I don't know, but," she stuttered, trying to think. "Axel is still with the Organization, I think."

"And Xion?"

"I sent you both to Twilight Town after I erased your memories," she said, a bit confused. "Have you not found her yet?"

"No, I haven't," I sighed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she sighed, shrinking as if she were ashamed.

"Is it possible that after you… uh… 'sent us to Twilight Town' that she could have moved elsewhere?"

"I suppose…" she said, glancing up. "Although, my drawings never lie." She pointed to a wall covered in crayon drawings of someone with black hair and blue eyes, the signature orange brick of Twilight Town in the background. She seemed to often be with someone else. It appeared to be another girl with chin-length hair, a bit pulled over an eye- a bit similar to Xion's style. I wondered who this other girl could be.

"Thanks for your help, Naminé," I smiled. "Just one question." I flipped to the last page that I wrote in my journal. The page that simply said that I was leaving the Organization and going with Xion to Naminé. "What happened after this?"

* * *

Yeah, so this isn't the most exciting chapter, but anyway… Yeah, I'm a bit stressed. You see, I'm not only working on a future chapter with another writer's block, but I picked up "Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades" for DS and now I am trying to not cuss out the game because I'm stuck on Sweet Home Alabama on Expert. (I mean, I already hated the song before! X]) So, Imma take a little break on updating, considering how I am also spending the night with some friends today, so I'll start updating again on Monday or Tuesday. In the mean time, I fixed the link in the bottom Author's Note of "Last Words" so check out Xion if you wanna.


	30. The Tournament

I'M SORRY! I know I said 2 chapters a day once I got back but... Well, I started reading the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series and watching the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series on AnimeFreak. tv, so... (TT-TT) I beg for forgiveness! (The more I watch Fullmetal, the more I love it and the less I'm into KH- I'M SORRY!) And so... Well Imma be winding this up sooner than I thought. And I didn't really catch up on my chapters any. But! I still have, like 10 saved up or something so maybe I can made due. (SO SORRY!

_**Sanctuary**_

_**The Tournament**_

"And that's when I woke up," I said, finishing her sentence after she finished explaining things. She nodded, taking out a pencil to sketch with. "Oh," I sighed. "That would have given Xion plenty of time to move somewhere else."

"I'm sorry, Roxas," Naminé said, her voice shaking. "If I hadn't undone Sora's memories in the first place like the Organization said, then none of this would've happened…"

"Hey, it wasn't your fault," I sighed. "They were threatening to end lives and… Well, you said that your Kairi's Nobody, so when we're born, we don't have any sense of judgment to go by. That's how I ended up in the Organization. 'They told me what to do, and I did as they said, easy as that. It gave me purpose, and I didn't know to question it.' Well, at least, that's what it said in my journal."

"I still had a choice, though…" she sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll track down Axel and Xion. Everything will be like it used to be!" I smiled.

It was hopeless! I gave up my search for them grudgingly after a few days, Hayner convincing me to take a break and train for the Struggle Tournament with him. Well, by convinced, I mean that he handed me a bat and ran after me, beating me with his.

Soon the Tournament came, and so did Seifer and his gang. His friends consisted of a girl with short white hair, her bangs covering one eye- Fuu. She wore a sleeveless blue zip-up shirt with a high dark collar, white capris-length cargo pants and light blue slip-on shoes. His other buddy was a guy with dark brown hair and long sideburns- Rai. He wore an orange sleeveless shirt with a navy swirling pattern near the collar, a silver chain necklace with a lightning bolt charm, baggy navy pants with two red stripes on each side and an blue number 8, blue wristbands outlined in white and white and yellow tennis shoes. And lastly was a hooded figure, his black hooded jacket way too big for his slender build, black semi-loose pants and white tennis shoes with black soles.

"Hey, Seifer," Hayner growled.

"Ready to loose again this year?" Seifer sneered.

"No, this time we have a secret weapon! Roxas, get over here!" Hayner yelled. I walked forward, Hayner clapping his hand on my shoulder with a grin of confidence. Seifer thought for a moment, eventually figuring it out.

"Hey, you're the kid from before!" I smiled and nodded, making him growl angrily. (I just loved annoying people.) "Hayner, haven't your taught this kid to fear me yet?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, Seifer can tear you to shreds, y'know," Rai laughed.

"Demise," Fuu said grimly, pointing at me.

"Besides, we have our own secret weapon," Seifer smirked, grabbing the hooded figure by the shoulder and jerking him forward. He kept his hands in his pockets, disregarding the rough treatment.

"Why are you wearing a hood?" I asked, pinching the cloth between my finger and thumb and trying to pull it back, only to have my hand slapped away.

"Because," Seifer said, speaking for him, "this is our secret weapon. SECRET."

"Mystery," Fuu said dully, hands back in her pockets.

"You won't know until the Tournament starts, y'know?" Rai added. The hooded figure turned and sat on the sidelines, followed by the others.

"I wonder who that guy was," Pence wondered aloud. Olette shrugged.

"But he looked kinda creepy."

"Just like Seifer and the others," Hayner sighed.

"Whatever, we can beat that scrawny kid, easy," I smiled. Hayner nodded.

And then the tournament began.


	31. Mystery Revealed

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Mystery Revealed**_

The rules were explained: Knock away all of your opponent's Velcro balls and you win. Push your opponent from the ring and you win.

First up was Seifer verses me. We were suited up in the Velcro armor- a vest and a helmet. The yellow Velcro balls were attached all over, ten in all, and we received our official Struggle Bats. The announcer counted down from three on the platform in the Sandlot, indicating the match's start.

Seifer was pretty hard to beat. He charged at me, I dodged, spun behind him and hit away all of the Velcro balls on the back of his vest and helmet with one swipe- only six left. He turned and swung at me, so I ducked and hit away one on his side- five down, five to go. He swung again, putting a lot of muscle behind it and hitting me in the side of the head. I was knocked down, Seifer pinning me to the floor with his foot and ridding me of at least four balls. I tried to free myself, only to be pushed back down each time. The idea struck me, so I used my bat to hit away the remaining five. Four fell to the ground, but one remained on his helmet. I couldn't reach his helmet with my back, being pinned to the ground as I was. He hit away all but the two on my back and the one on my helmet. I held my breath and threw the Struggle Bat, knocking away the last of Seifer's Velcro balls. I grinned as I was declared the winner, Seifer sneering at me as Rai and Fuu dragged him to the sidelines.

Next was me verses Hayner. The match went similarly to my match with Seifer. Hayner smirked, running towards me at hitting me in the side with his wooden bat. I was nearly pushed out of the arena, only to catch myself just in time. Hayner was just behind me, so I spun and hit him in the back. He fell from the ring, Olette and Pence helping him up. I was declared the winner again, joining my friends on the sidelines as Hayner was called back up to face Seifer.

Hayner and Seifer charged at the same time, although Seifer was stronger and knocked Hayner backwards. Seifer approached him, knocking away several of his Velcro balls. Hayner slid around Seifer's legs, round-house kicking his ankles and tripping him. Seifer fell from the ring, Hayner grinning victoriously.

"Finally! I beat you, Seifer! I OWN!" he chanted, pumping his fist in the air. Pence, Olette and I cheered and applauded, making fun of Seifer all the while. The announcer interrupted us, pulling both me and the hooded boy onto the stage. We were suited up again, the hooded boy removing the black jacket. My eyes scanned upward as I examined my opponent.

I saw the white tennis shoes with back soles, the black pants tight around his knees, same as before. Then I saw what was under the jacket- a long sleeved black and white horizontally striped undershirt, the rounded collar hugging his collar bones. On top of it, he wore a black V-neck sleeveless shirt, and over it a short sleeved white jacket without buttons or zippers, the torso section stopping with the short sleeves. The sleeves were trimmed in black, a thin silver chain necklace around his neck. I was surprised to see the same x-shaped charm that was attached to my zipper. I heard the announcer say 'begin' as my heart skipped a beat. It wasn't a guy, but a girl. I studied the face- blue eyes, short black hair.

"… Xion?"

"What?" she spat through gritted teeth, the grip on her bat tightening as she came towards me, ready to swing. I dropped my bat.

"Xion!" I ran, tackling her with a hug, knocking both of us from the arena. I didn't hear the announcer say that Xion was out since she hit the ground first. I didn't hear Hayner, Pence and Olette cheer from the other side of the platform. All I heard was Xion, wide-eyed and hitting my head repeatedly with her bat.

"WHAT THE CRAP ARE YOU DOING! GET _OFF_!" A grinned, hugging her neck tighter.

"Xion! I can't believe it's you! Have you been in Twilight Town this whole time! Oh, I'm Roxas, by the way!"

* * *

Oh, and to answer your question, Devin Wolf- I like Fullmetal a lot because of the whole idea of turning one thing into another with Alchemy, it has nearly constant suspenseful life or death kind of fights, it would be cool to have Automail limbs to replace lost arms, legs, etc. and the main character is friggin awesome. Okay, I'm done! (And that's just my opinion! It okay with me if you don't like it!) (x])


	32. Personality

Um, to answer your question, blblblblbl, I don't really know how many chapters there's going to be. So far I have 6 chapters finished after this one, ready to be published, but I'm not sure if it'll be 15 more chapters till then end, or maybe even 20, who knows. (?.?) It all depends on how much I progress in each chapter. (Trust me, I know how to do filler. Just ask my old Science teacher. She knows I hate those science fair project reports! =_= Or my old History teacher, she knows how much filler I use on my summer reading book reports. Ah, high school- the only reason it's likeable is because it doesn't give out as much homework as my old school. Wow, I can ramble! Anyway, time to read! X])

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Personality**_

"Seifer! Get 'im off of me!" Xion yelled, still hitting me with the bat.

"Why should I?" he huffed, a hint of laughter in his voice.

" 'Cause if you don't, I'll go get my knife and kill you in the middle of the night- NOW GET OVER HERE!" she screamed. Seifer swallowed hard, coming and jerking me off Xion.

Xion stood up and brushed herself off. She nodded at Seifer, turning to give a sharp glare at me. She snatched up the bat, walking away. As soon as she was gone, I realized it. She was gone! I wasn't going to let her slip by this time, or ever. I squirmed my way out of Seifer's grip as Hayner and the gang came running forward.

"I'll meet up with you later, guys! Hayner, take the trophy for me!" I smiled, waving behind me. Seifer had begun to chase me, but he was slow. I rounded the corner of one street, spotting Xion who turned into another. I ran as fast as I could, rounding the corner and not expecting to collide with Xion. "Whoa, sorry!" I said, catching her mid-fall. She didn't squirm in my grip like before. I helped her over to a nearby bench. She seemed completely different now that Seifer and his gang weren't around. No threats or yelling, no gritted teeth or sharp glares.

"Roxas," she said quietly, looking down. I turned to face her in surprise. "Can I… call you Roxas…?" she asked, looking me in the eyes.

"Eh?" I scratched my chin with one finger. "Ah, yeah. Sure." We sat in another moment of silence. Xion retained her focus on the ground, absentmindedly twiddling her thumbs.

"Sorry for… hitting you," she mumbled.

"What, with the bat?" I asked, still surprised about how different she acted around Seifer. "Nah, it's nothing!"

"Yeah it was…"

"Hayner did the same thing and, well, you saw when Seifer hit me!" I laughed, rubbing my head.

"You know, I… have to be tough around them or else they'll make me leave…" she said, sadness in her voice.

"Is that so bad?" I asked plainly. I couldn't think of anywhere worse to be than with Seifer.

"I don't have anywhere else to go," she said, trying to force a laugh.

"You can hang out with us!"

"Who's 'us'?" she asked, expressionless.

"Me and Hayner and Pence and Olette!" I said happily, an arm around her back and on her right shoulder, standing her up with me. I started walking us slowly to the house I had seen Seifer in. I decided to try and find Xion's journal if Naminé had hidden hers as well. Then I'd take her to Naminé herself to let her know that she was right about Xion.

We rummaged around Seifer's house and looked for her journal. The first place I checked was her clothes- where I found my journal. We looked through the piles on clothes in the corners of the room.

"I think I found it," Xion called eventually. I turned to see a book with a black cover, just like mine.

"Let me see," I said, taking it from her outstretched arm. I flipped it open, skimming over the pages. "Xion Number XIV," I read silently. "Day 16: I was placed under charge of Roxas, Number XIII. He has deep blue eyes and spiky blond hair. Day 17: I took off my hood for the first time. Roxas seemed surprised. It made me smile. Roxas took me to the clock tower in Twilight Town and gave me something called 'Sea-Salt ice cream'. It was sweet and salty and really good. He said that he used to eat it with Number XIII, Axel- one of the other Members. I have a lot more confidence that I can make it through the Organization's missions each day. I have Roxas to thank for it. I can wait to see him again tomorrow."

I closed Xion's journal, handing it back to her.

"Yep, this is your journal alright," I told her as she stared at me expectantly. I just wished that I could have read a bit more of it.


	33. Axel

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Axel**_

" 'Day 20: Roxas is still asleep'." Xion and I were reading her journal silently as we sat on the edge of he bed. " 'I just hope he wakes up soon. I wonder when he will open his eyes again… Day-' " Xion suddenly turned and leaning against the corner of the wall, keeping me from seeing any more. Her knees were up to block me in case I tried to look over the top of the journal. I looked at Xion, her face kinda pinkish. I thought she was pale skinned? Maybe she got a little sunburn on the way here. She glanced up at me, her eyes flicking back to the page immediately.

"What was that about? Can't I read it?" I asked.

"No!" she shouted, surprised at my asking.

"How come?"

"You do realize that this journal was a private journal, right? Well, who knows what 'private' stuff I wrote in here!" I hung my head in defeat, knowing what she meant.

"Hey Xion, I'll let you read mine if I can read yours when your done," I smiled.

"No," she sighed. I huffed, waiting for her to finish reading. "Okay, I'm done," she said eventually. I looked up to see her eyes dull, a look of sadness on her face.

"You okay?" I asked, suddenly tackled by a hug as she sobbed.

"I really did forget everything!" she cried, leaning her head against my chest. "I completely forgot who you were! And Axel!" I practically had to wring my out my shirt when she was done. She calmed down after a while of just letting her cry, and I decided to cheer her up a bit. I took her to the clock tower.

"This is where we used to eat ice cream before RTCing," I told her, sitting on the wall.

"I wonder if Axel still comes up here by himself," she sighed, sniffling. I gasped in surprise.

"Maybe he does!" Xion gave me a questioning look. I dug the 'Winner' stick out of my pocket. "Surely you wrote about rubbing the 'Winner' ice cream stick in his face, right?" I laughed. "We can give it to him now!"

"But we're not even sure where he is, right?" she asked.

"He might still come up here, like you said," I told her, an idea hitting me. "Wait! Naminé said that she thought he was still in the Organization. But I didn't ask her if Axel ever came to the clock tower anymore. We should go ask her!"

"Okay, where is she?" I pointed to the Mansion that we were soon approaching. "Naminé?" I called, walling through the halls and finally finding her room. "Naminé, look who I found!" I laughed, pulling Xion in behind me by the shoulder.

"Hello Xion. It's nice to see you again," she smiled. Xion nodded, smiling back.

"We have a question for you," I said as I scanned the walls filled with pictures. "Do you have any drawings of Axel?"

"Yes," she nodded, holding out her sketchbook after flipping to a certain page. "Here's one, and there's more in my older sketchpads, if you want to see those too. And a few on this wall as well," she said, my attention turning to each picture in turn. They were all of Axel either in a white room- The Castle That Never Was, I noticed- or…

"Yeah, he does still go to the clock tower!" I cheered. Naminé smiled at me and Xion.

"Yes, he is still wondering where you two went. He thinks that you ran away from the Organization."

"Without him? That's a stupid thought…" Xion mumbled, grinning.

"Well, he doesn't need to think that anymore. Xion, let's go explain personally!" I smiled, pointing towards the clock tower. "Hey Naminé, do you know if he's up there now?"

"Yes, he is," Xion said, nodding.

"Whoa, Xion! How'd you do that?" I asked, Naminé grinning.

"I looked out the window," Xion laughed.

"Hah, okay, let's go!" I said, running form the room with Xion right behind me. "Thanks Naminé!"


	34. Winner

Hehe... Sorry guys, clicked the wrong document to post as Winner. (:[]) Heh, I appreciate the reviews correcting me! Oh, and about the question concerning Vivi, I'm not going to put Vivi in since I don't know enough about her (I'm guessing 'her' by the name) to put her in. So anyway, I'll post an extra chapter to make up for everything! Yay ( :3)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Winner**_

I shushed Xion as we tiptoed up the last steps that lead to the top of the clock tower. I had run by my house and picked up the 'Winner' ice cream stick. I slid my hand into my pocket, taking it out slowly. We arrived at the corner, stopping as we saw Axel's boots. Xion and I smiled as I tossed the ice cream stick at his head. Axel's head swiveled in surprise, confusion taking over his expression as he lifted the 'Winner' stick from the ground. He stood up, walking towards the corner. Just as he peered around, Xion and I tackled him with a hug.

"AXEL!" we shouted.

"GAH!" he screamed as he fell backwards, my and Xion's arms around his neck. "Wha- Roxas? Xion? WHAT THE CRAP? YOU SCARED ME TO DEATH!"

"It's not like we could've given you a heart attack!" I laughed.

We explained everything to him as he ate his ice cream with us, just like we used to do. The sunset seemed brighter, the ice cream sweeter. Axel was soon caught up on everything as we began to talk about anything we could think of.

"So you two forgot about me! I'm hurt," he grinned, making a dramatic pose as Xion and I laughed. Xion looked into the sunset for a while.

"We still need to go to the beach together," she smiled, biting the wooden stick absentmindedly.

"Why don't we?" Axel said, looking into the sunset as well. "I think I have a vacation coming up soon. I suppose I can skip my scheduled all-day nap for it," he grinned. "Besides, Xemnas is stingy with vacation days."

"Great, when do we go?" I asked.

"Tomorrow," he said, his hands folded behind his neck.

"It's a date," Xion smiled, looking at Axel, then back at me. "I guess I'm going now. Roxas, do you mind if I stay downstairs in your house tonight?"

"Sure," I shrugged. She hugged my neck, waving to us as she went back down the stairs.

"Looks like you're heart's been stolen, my friend," Axel laughed, an arm around my neck.

"Huh?" I asked, glancing down- where my heart was. Axel shook his head.

"Hah, never mind." He stood up, forming a Dark Corridor and about to leave.

"Hang on," I said, standing up and holding out my palm. A black smoke came, but only a small trail. "I was wondering how to do that. I kind of forgot," I laughed, scratching my head. He gave me a few pointers, and eventually it was second-nature all over again. He waved goodbye and left. I decided to only use Dark Corridors when I had to, like tomorrow to get to Destiny Islands- the beach. So today I walked home. I let Xion sleep in my room, myself staying downstairs on the couch. Soon Xion had come downstairs.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Xion asked as she tiptoed down the stairs.

"Nah, it's fine. We gotta' get ready, anyway."

"For wha- Oh! The beach!" she cheered. We ate breakfast- better today since Xion cooked. Pancakes. Bacon. Tasty.

We put on our swimsuits under our clothes, taking just enough money to buy ice cream so that we wouldn't have to keep up with it later.

"Ready?" I asked. Xion smiled and nodded at me as I smiled back.

"Yep! Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"Your face is kinda'… pink-ish," she said, placing her palm on my forehead. "Do you have a fever?"

"Nah, I'm not sick," I said, placing my hand against my face. "Anyway, let's go!"

* * *

Yeah, I'm almost out of saved up chapters, so soon I'll be updating... Eh, I have no idea, really. I guess whenever I feel like writing. (,'_' )


	35. Red

_Everybody, chapter 34 is fixed now so you can go back to read it!_

Again, I'm sorry about this big screw-up on my part! Heheh (,'_' ) Eh, yeah my cousins were really wanting us (me and my brother) to spend the night so I kinda updated when they were tugging on my arm and asking to go play outside- BUT! Everything should be fixed now! If not, just yell at me through reviews! Heheh (^-^)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Red**_

"So how are we going to get to the beach? I mean, Destiny Islands is, in fact, an island."

"Oh, Axel gave me a few tips and now I can use the Dark Corridors again, see?" I said, forming a spiraling loophole ahead of us.

"Bu-But we have hearts now!"

"So?" I shrugged.

"It's darkness! Now that we have hearts, won't we turn into Heartless when we use it?" she said, panicking.

"Oh, come on, we'll be okay as long as we don't let it get to our hearts," I smiled, putting a foot inside the Corridor. I nodded my head, waving my hand for her to follow me. Just as I turned away, she clasped my right hand with both of hers. I turned back to face her, her head lowered a bit. I could still see her cheeks tinted pink as she lowered her left hand, lifting it to her mouth and biting her thumbnail. I smiled, pulling her in behind me.

Ahead of me, I could see the beach of Destiny Islands at the end of the short tunnel-like Corridor. I turned behind me, seeing the other end at my house. But I couldn't see Xion at all. I felt her hand in mine, so I tightened my grip. I realized that I couldn't see myself either. It was just dark. We neared he end of the Corridor as I pulled Xion ahead of me, letting her out first as the Corridor closed behind me.

"See? Nothing happened," I smiled. She nodded, still looking a bit nervous. Her grip tightened as she looked up at me.

"Thanks," she breathed. "Uh, are you sure your okay? Your face is redder than last time," she said, placing her hand back on my forehead.

"I think," I replied. She stepped closer, eying her hand. She slid it down onto my cheek, her own face tinted a dark pink. She locked eyes with me.

"Oh... Sorry," she said, glancing at her hand. She slipped it down neck and back by her side, slipping her other hand out of mine as she stepped back a few paces since our shoes were practically touching.

"Oh, that's okay," I shrugged.

"I'll go get the ice cream, you wait here for Axel," she said as I nodded. She turned and sprinted away, Axel stepping out of a Dark Corridor to my left.

"Hey Roxas," he greeted as I turned to look up at him. "Whoa, buddy! What's got you so red in the face?" he asked. He added in a babying tone, "What, did Xion hold your hand?" He pinched my cheek with one hand, his palm on my head and putting all of his weight on me with the other as I stiffened my neck to hold him up.

"Yeah, how come?" I asked as I tried to turn my head, Axel bursting into laughter. "What?"

"Haha! I was just kidding, but- Man, she's got you hooked!" he choked out, transferring his weight from my head to a nearby rock.

"What? What are you talking about?" He didn't answer me, so I huffed and I sat beside him, waiting for Xion to get back.

"Here she comes," Axel said, waving widely, myself joining in. "Ain't cha' gonna fix up your hair?" he laughed, giving me the baby-talk tone again.

"Why?" I shrugged.

"Whatever," he laughed. He had me so confused.

"Hey Axel!" she greeted, handing him an ice cream. "Here, Roxas," she smiled, handing me mine. "Oh, did Axel mess up your hair?" she laughed, rubbing her own hand in it as Axel cracked up again.

"WHAT?" I finally shouted, turning to Axel.

"Nothing!" he laughed, doubling over.

"What's so funny?" Xion asked, just as oblivious as me. We glanced at each other, shrugging and shaking our heads.


	36. The Gang

_**Sanctuary**_

_**The Gang**_

"Hayner! Pence! Olette! Sorry for blowing you off yesterday," I laughed as I pulled aside the curtain. "But I think I have a pretty good reason."

"Yeah? And what's that?" Hayner said, giving me a bit of a glare. Pence and Olette smiled nervously.

"You know who I had been hunting around town for? Well, I found them!"

"When do we get to meet them?" Olette asked excitedly.

"Uh, how about now?" I asked, reaching behind me and taking Xion's hand. "This is Xion!" I opened the curtain a bit wider and pulled Xion inside. Everyone's expression turned to one of fear.

"Is- Is that the girl that you fought in the Struggle Tournament? The one that was with Seifer?" Hayner shouted, stepping back a few paces. Pence and Olette forced a smile from where they sat on the couch.

"Yep!" I smiled. Xion waved, making everyone flinch. Xion looked at me confusedly. "Eh, what can I say, their terrified of Seifer- and anyone with Seifer. They'll get used to you!" Xion laughed, everyone calming down a bit. I can't blame them- she has a soft, nice laugh. How can you fear that? "Oh, and guys? If you want to meet Axel, then come up to the clock tower at about five. We'll all get some ice cream!"

"Hey Roxas. Hey Xion," I heard Axel say as he rounded the corner. "Sorry I'm late, Xemnas is such a- ah… Uh, hello there, children I don't know." Hayner, Pence and Olette waved, biting into their ice cream happily. We soon had everyone introduced and on the wall, watching the sun set.

Eventually Axel leaned around us, whispering to Hayner and the gang out of the corner of his mouth. Xion and I looked at each other, shaking out heads and shrugging again. Axel leaned back, grinning widely and about to laugh.

"Aw, Roxas! You never told us about you and Xion!" Olette clapped.

"What about us? I mean, I already told you guys that she and Axel were my best friends," I said confusedly.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell us that you- Oh, does she not know yet?" I looked at Axel, who sat beside me, trying hard not to laugh.

"What are you talking about? I didn't tell you that I what?" I asked as Pence and Olette stood up and began to walk towards the stairs. Olette cam back and grabbed Hayner by the ear, dragging him along, too.

"Well, we'll see you later, Roxas! Nice to meet you Xion!" Pence called, waving as he closed the door to the stairwell behind him.

"Axel, what did you tell them?" I asked, turning around to face him.

"Hey, Xion. Why don't you head back? I gotta' talk to Roxas for a minute," he grinned. Xion looked at me, so I just shrugged.

"Uh, okay," Xion shrugged. "See you later."

"Why'd you make everybody leave?" I asked after Xion started down the stairs, closing the door behind her.

"Roxas, buddy," Axel sighed, clapping his hand on my shoulder. "I expected this the moment you said that you went and got yourself a heart. And I want cha' to know, she likes you just as much as you like her." I stared at him a moment, confused. "Get what I'm sayin'?"

"I really don't, no."

"Your Sora's Nobody," he sighed. "Following me so far?" I sighed, nodding. "Xion was modeled after Kairi." I nodded.

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, do you know why she took on the form of Kairi?"

"No, how come?"

"Because Sora's strongest memory was of Kairi." He added in the baby-voice, messing up my hair again. "_Because he loves her._ Get it?"

"What do you mean, 'he loves her'?"

"Ugh, are you gonna' make me explain love to you again?" he laughed. I stared at him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, you are, aren't you? Huh."


	37. The Keyblade

Yes, two chapters today. Don't worry about it, I'll explain at the end of it, so go ahead and read. (TT_TT)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**The Keyblade**_

I had no idea what Axel was trying to say to me yesterday. He tried to explain what a 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' was, and it made since up until this 'love' thing came back up- I still didn't know what that was all about. He said that guys can only have girlfriends, girls can only have boyfriends, each person can only have one at a time, the reason behind who they pick was 'love', which is between a boy and a girl. Then he went back to the beginning again. Yeah, now you know why I was stuck. It was like a never-ending loop. I gave up on trying to figure it all out as I walked back to my house with Xion from the hangout.

"Hey Roxas," she said, her hands in her pockets and looking to the sky as she walked. "You know how you can do the Dark Corridors now?"

"Yeah," I nodded, folding my arms behind my neck.

"I'm kind of tired of climbing over the locked gate at Naminé's mansion and... We used to be able to make Dark Corridors, so I was wondering… Have you tried summoning the Keyblade yet? We could just unlock Naminé's gate if we had that with us next time."

"No, I haven't tried to bring out my Keyblade, but it's worth a shot," I said, adding with a grin, "And climbing that gate isn't even hard, lazy. I always help you up anyway!" She gave me an aggravated poke in the ribs. Eh, I guess I deserved it.

We paused in the street, staring at our hands and hoping to bring out the Keyblade. I was startled after a few minutes when I heard a '_shink_' sound and saw a bright flash of light. Just as I turned to see Xion's wide-eyed look of joy, the Keyblade vanished from her hand.

"I did it! I can still use the Keyblade!" she shouted.

"Er, that's great and all, but why'd you put it away the second you brought it out?" I questioned, scratching my head. Xion crossed her arms, huffing.

"Well, I didn't mean to make it disappear, but I got it out!" she said, returning to her cheer. Xion hummed happily as we smiled and continued our walk home. We were almost half way to the house when I felt a cold chill.

"Uh, Xion…?" I turned to face her, her shoulders scrunched and tight, her eyes wide.

"Yeah, I felt it too." I slowly turned around to see several of my old friends, the Heartless.

"Run!" I shouted, grabbing Xion by the wrist and hauling both of us away as quickly as I could. The Heartless were fast and we were soon cornered in a dead end. Xion glanced at me in panic as the Heartless charged after us. I looked back at Xion who was practically quaking. I tugged her behind me, I turning and pinning her against the wall with my back as I shielded my head with my arms.

I opened my eyes to see smoke everywhere, hearts flying into the sky. I looked back at Xion who had also cracked open an eye, both of which widened. I looked back ahead of me, seeing a Keyblade in my hand. I had literally just killed Heartless with my eyes closed. Xion had apparently grabbed my shoulders, because her grip on my sleeves loosened. She slid out from behind me as we just stared at the Keyblade in my hand.

"Well, I got the Keyblade out first!" Xion laughed as we walked up the stairs and into my room- well, now Xion's room, though she left everything the way I had left it when I let her stay here.

"You may have gotten it out first, but I was the first to keep it out AND kill Heartless!" I grinned.

"Come on, just let me have this one!" Xion said, whining through a laugh. "You already got 'the first to make a Dark Corridor' and 'the first to use a Dark Corridor'!"

"Well, you were actually the first one out of the Dark Corridor, but I still get 'the first to kill Heartless'."

"Fine, as long as I get 'the first to summon the Keyblade'," she grinned, plopping onto the bed beside me as we argued for the 'firsts' titles.

"Okay, but I still get 'the first to summon the Keyblade and actually _keep it out_'!" Xion reached behind her back, throwing the pillow on the bed and hitting me in the face as we laughed.

* * *

Uhm, yeah, so... The reason I published two chapters today is because that's all I've got saved up and I'm going to take a break longer than just a weekend. I'm helping my brother make a game for his site and this is a pretty big project- draw out a jumping flip (done), draw out a long jump, and lastly several melee combos. Then if I finish it in this week, school starts back next week for me, and it's my freshman year so it's going to take me a while to get used to the school... So if you guys don't mind a near month-long break, then I can make the story a lot longer! So, uh, in the meantime, you guys can check out my brother's games on his site:

www.

NitezProductions

.com

Have fun while I'm gone! (TT_TT) (sorry)


	38. The Room

So I'm back! Yep, it's been a month and I haven't really gotten much written (though I did write some, which I didn't expect Xo). Well, to make up for lost time, this one's over twice as big as my other chapters. And maybe that'll hold you guys off until the weekends when I'll publish my chapters from now on (specifically Saturdays).

_**

* * *

Sanctuary**_

_**The Room**_

I entered the house, hearing the middle of a conversation. Olette was upstairs with Xion in my old room, now Xion's room, talking. Well, more like yelling.

"Come on Xion! Just smell it!" Olette yelled.

"No!"

"Fine, you leave me no choice!" I heard a small noise. I looked up from the living room where I stood near the door and through the rails on the stairs and around the edges of the balcony-type platform upstairs, and lastly through the open door in my old room. Olette was spraying the contents of a small clear bottle into the air, grabbing Xion in a headlock and making her breath it in.

"AUGH!" Xion gagged, coughing. "You made me smell it before! I hate the smell of it, and I already told you that! Now let me go you frikin' faggot!" I chuckled slightly as Olette simply tightened her grip, making Xion growl. Xion flipped Olette over her back and onto the floor.

"Gah!" Olette breathed as she hit the floor, landing on her back.

"Just go to sleep," Xion cooed, laughing as she grabbed the pillow from the bed and pretended to smother Olette. Olette laughed too, but I couldn't hear until Xion tossed away the pillow and helped her friend from the ground. Xion glanced at the perfume bottle on the carpet, kicking it out of the room and down the stairs when Olette wasn't looking, then continued her laughing inconspicuously. I grinned as I sat on the couch and snacked on a small bag of chips.

Soon Olette had gathered her things and tracked down her perfume bottle, waving goodbye as she opened the door. She smirked, spraying the perfume in Xion's direction before closing the door behind her and heading home. Hayner, Pence and I had gone to see a movie about some assassin with guns and blood and stuff, but Olette convinced Xion that girls don't like movies like that. So Xion and Olette stayed back at my house for the day.

"Ugh, what's with that spray stuff that smells so strong it burns?" Xion sighed as she plopped down beside me and dug her hand into the bag of chips.

"I don't know, but your covered in it," I coughed as the draft she had caused caught up to her, blowing the awful smell in my face.

"Meh. I'll go take a bath," Xion sighed, laughing slightly as she ran up the stairs and into the bathroom, the only one in the house and the second out of the three rooms upstairs. It wasn't long before she emerged again, her hair soaked and dripping on her change of clothes, the old ones balled up in her hand. She walked up to me, shaking her wet hair in my face.

"Mm. Soapy," I said sarcastically, wiping the water from my face.

"Yep. I don't see why Olette uses that 'hairdryer'," Xion said, rolling her eyes. She had told me before that Olette had washed her hair right before Xion came over. Olette had pulled out an 'L' shaped device and used it to blow hot air over her hair, supposedly making it dry faster. "Who needs one, anyway? It's called 'evaporation'." Xion leaned her head towards me, also holding out her arm. I sniffed, giving her a thumbs-up.

"Yep, no more burn."

"Good," she grinned, jumping on the couch after snatching the chips back out of the cabinet. "Oh, and Olette said she saw a good movie that she knows I'll like but she said you wouldn't like it. She said it was a 'chick flick' and that guys hate those," she shrugged. "I dunno if I'm gonna like it, but I might at well see it."

"Sure, and this time all the guys can hang out."

"Just make sure that they don't have any perfume with them," she grinned, stuffing a few chips in her mouth. It was soon time for Xion and Olette to leave for the movie, but I decided to stay at home and clean up my old room before going to the 'Usual Spot'- the new name for the hangout. Axel appeared in my room while I was trying to rid of the perfume smell before Xion got back.

"Hey, Roxa- augh!" he gagged, coughing as he waving his hand in front of his nose. "Ugh, what is that?"

"Perfume," I sighed, picking up anything that could possibly be washed.

"You realize that perfume is for girls, right?" he said, coking an eyebrow.

"Yes! Ugh, Xion was in here with Olette. Xion didn't want any on her, so Olette tried to spray her with it and it kinda went everywhere and soaked into everything," I sighed.

"Aw, Roxas actually had some girls in his room," Axel laughed, his palm rubbing my head as he pushed me down a few inches.

"What do you mean? Xion always stays in here. I mean, she sleeps here."

"Whoa, Roxas, buddy, girls aren't supposed to sleep in the same room as guys!" he said, waving his hands in front of him defensively.

"I stay downstairs," I said, knitting my eyebrows. "Really, Axel. Think about it, there's only one bed in here."

"Exactly," Axel said under his breath, glancing around. "Anyway! So if she sleeps in here and you sleep downstairs on the couch, who sleeps in those rooms?" Axel asked, leaning out of the door and pointing to the room to the left and the door on the wall that formed an angle with a wall from my room.

"Well, the room to the left is empty, and the other room is the bathroom. And you can see that downstairs the living room joins the kitchen without any kind of wall or door in between. So the room to the left is the only one she could stay in."

"Well, why doesn't she?" Axel asked, opening the door to the empty room and walking inside.

"Yeah, like I have enough money for another set of furniture," I laughed.

"Hey, you got plenty of crap in your room you could sell, you know," Axel said, pointing towards my room through the wall. He walked past me and went back into my room, picking things up. "You don't need this, or these, or that. See? This could sell!" he grinned, hugging the armful of various items. I forced a grinned, gritting my teeth tightly. He was trying to sell everything I owned! My forced smiled vanished as I saw one specific item in his arms.

"MY JOURNAL! YOU WANTED ME TO SELL MY JOURNAL?" I cried, grimacing and glaring at him as I snatched my journal from his arms. I was eventually able to pick everything personally valuable to me out of his grasp and he was soon running out of the room.

"I'll sell this crap while you find some more!" he yelled, leaving me abruptly by myself again.

"Uheh… Okay, later, then…" I laughed, scratching the back of my head. I turned and sighed, getting a few things together. I had finished gathering everything up that I felt I had no use for, but Axel still wasn't back. I glanced around the room, looking at all of Xion's things.

I gathered together her clothes, trying to keep them organized in her new closet- no more piles in the corner. I found her journal and placed it carefully on the desk I moved from my room into hers. I pulled down a few posters Xion said she liked from my room and taped them on her walls. Axel finally returned as I sat waiting for him on the couch, wondering what all I should do with her room next.

"I'm ba~ack!" Axel sang as he entered, waving.

"What took so long?" I said, cracking open one of my closed eyes, my arms folded behind my neck and ankle across my knee.

"Oh, well I stopped to get ice cream-"

"What? Not with my money, I hope for your sake!" I sighed, leaning forward and placing my hands on my knees.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. I'll make up for that. Why don't I sneak around in a furniture store and Dark-Corridor a bed back here, huh?" he smirked, leaning forward and watched me expectantly. I sighed, shaking my head, to which his head hung for a moment.

"You gotta pay for it, you know. Well, how much ya' got, huh?"

"Oh, the money! Right. I got probably… Eh, 2,000 Munny?" he said, running his finger around in a small pouch.

"Cool, cool. That, plus the bit I've saved up should get us a bed for Xion's room, plus a little left over. Okay, lets go find a bed. Xion can personalize the rest, right?" I shrugged.

"Yeah! I mean, she'll just be happy to have her own closet, finally. I heard girls like clothes… and jewelry, and perfume, and make-up… You know, crap like that," Axel shrugged.

"No, no. Xion hates perfume and doesn't wear make-up. She doesn't even own any. Plus she doesn't care what she wears, really. 'So long as it's clean', she always says." Axel gave me a strange look before grinning.

"Good. You won't have to spend much on her, then!" he said, clapping me on the back.

"Huh? You realize I'm only getting her the room, right? What else do you thing I'll be getting for her?" I said, looking at him confusedly and a bit angry- he always has to confuse me somehow.

"Oh, come on. You know that guys are always the ones to pay for movie tickets, dinners at fancy restaurants, you know, all that." We looked at each other, confusion spread across both of our faces. "Uh, you still don't know what I'm talking about?" he said, laughing dully. I slowly shook my head no. "Never mind…"

Well, Axel did as he had said earlier. He snuck into the furniture store, myself dragging behind. He glanced around, making sure no one was watching as drug the bed into the Dark Corridor after him. I sighed, talking to the cashier on how much to pay. I ran back home, seeing Axel dragging the heavy bed out after him.

"Let me help you," I sighed, laughing as I ran up the stairs and tugging the bed out with one hand.

"Buddy, when'd you get so strong?"

"Heh, you've just gotten soft," I laughed, pulling the bed into the corner. "Besides, I've pulled out the Keyblade since I was reborn, you know. Plus, since I don't use it as much as I used to, I guess I have a lot more energy left to burn!"

"Ah, burn," Axel smiled.

"Don't get any ideas. Everything left in this house is staying," I said, flicking his head and trying to hide a grin- hey, I was trying to be stern, right? I heard the doorknob squeak and turn, Xion opening up the door.

"Hey Roxas! I'm back!" Axel glanced at me, waving and teleporting away. I cocked an eyebrow at the air which now took his place before running out of the room, closing the door behind me. I saw Xion coming through the doorway, so I ran into my room, grabbing a belt and swiveling back around.

"Hey Xion!" I smiled, jumping over the railing of the second floor and bouncing from the couch to the floor. She laughed.

"Why are you so… hyper?"

"Eh, you'll see," I grinned, standing behind her and wrapping the cloth belt around her eyes.

"What's this about?" she asked, waving her arms in front of her blindly.

"I said you'll see," I laughed, a hand on her back to keep her from falling backwards as I lead her up the stairs. Her hands slid across the rails as I turned and opened the door to the spare room. "Here," I said, tugging the belt pinched between my fingers to the side. She blinked her eyes tightly, opening them to see the room.

"Wha… Where is this?"

"The spare room," I laughed as she wandered it slowly.

"Whoa, really? I thought it was empty!" she said, spinning around in the center of the room, plopping onto the bed. "How the crap did you afford this!" she laughed, shaking her head.

"Heh, I dunno, ask Axel," I muttered.

"And you did this all while I was watching that stupid movie?" she said, shaking her head as she patted the bed for me to sit beside her. I did, nodding to answer her question.

"What, you didn't like the movie?" I asked as she laid back, staring at the ceiling.

"Heh, it was awful. I figured out why they call it a 'chick flick'. Apparently, sometimes girls are called 'chicks' and girls are supposed to like those movies. But it was so boring! Nothing happened in it. There were two main characters and all they did was walk around, sometimes talking to each other and the background music would change to something soft and slow. It dragged on until it said that the main characters 'got married' and had a 'happy life', the end. No fighting or anything. So dull…

"Oh! I'm sorry, you don't care about a movie for girls- especially if I didn't like it, and I'm a girl. Anyway, thanks Roxas," she laughed, sitting up and touching her lips to my cheek.

"Huh? What was that?" I asked, scrubbing my hand against my cheek.

"Eh, that's what the girl did in the movie to the guy when she was saying thanks. Ask Olette, I have no idea," she shrugged. She fell backwards across the bed again. "But really, thanks."

"Nuh- No problem." I stared at Xion who had her arm over her eyes, smiling. I lowered my hand from my face. It was warm, so I turned my head away, knowing my face was probably pinkish again.


	39. The Storm

HEY GUYS! I SAID I WAS BACK! WHERE ARE THOSE REVIEWS? Haha! Anyway, yes Riku Uzumaki, Xion is quite the tomboy. Since there is no real-world Xion to base her new-found emotions on like there is with Roxas, I based her off of myself (^u^). Yeah, I just couldn't resist, heh! Well, come on, can you blame me? I have yet to find a character that's like me, so I figured that might set my Fic apart a bit. Anyway, as promised, my weekly update. So read away if you haven't gotten sick of the story like I have! (^u^,)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**The Storm**_

"It's getting dark outside, Roxas. It's not night just yet, though," Xion said, raising up into a sitting position as she stared at the sky through her bedroom window. "What's going on?" she asked, turning to face me.

"It's probably about to rain," I said, leaning down to see the higher-up gray clouds.

"Oh really? I don't think I've seen rain before…" she said, sliding the window up. She leaned outside facing the sky as the first few drops fell. They hit her face and slid down her cheeks, soaking into her hair and making it an impossibly darker black. "It's cold," she smiled, turning around with her stomach on the bottom frame of the window. As she began to slide back inside, a loud clap of nearby thunder made both of us jump. "OW! Wha- what was that?" Xion asked, rubbing her back where she hit the top of the frame, her eyes wide and full of fear.

"Eh, I guess that's the 'thunder' the weather channel was talking about. Turns out that sometimes when it rains, it storms- rain along with thunder and lightning," I said, watching as Xion sat back onto the edge of the bed. She looked up at me in the center of the room, a bit shaky from the sudden noise.

"So if that was 'thunder', and the water was rain then… What's-" A sudden blinding flash of light interrupted her, followed by the 'thunder' again. Xion jumped again, clapping her palms over her ears and shaking harder.

"And that's lighting," I sighed, a finger in my ear as I tried to regain my hearing. The storm must have been really close.

"Are storms dangerous?" Xion asked, looking up through her eyelashes and bangs, carefully taking her hands away from her ears.

"No, not unless they're really close. At this distance, they only thing that storm can do is probably cut off the-" and so, irony strikes. "… Power." The only light came from the occasional flash of lightning from the window, followed by another explosion of sound. Xion sat on the edge of the bed, her ears covered as she curled up her legs.

"What happened to the lights?" I heard Xion cry shakily.

"I'll go get some flashlights, okay?" I shouted as thunder shook the room. I don't think she heard me. "Sorry, I'll be back in a minute, Xion! I just hope you don't have a heart attack by then…"

"Where are you going?" Xion cried, opening her eyes for a second. I held up my index finger before running from the room and down the stairs.

I opened a drawer in the kitchen, clicking on two flashlights. There was still nothing but black darkness in the room. I fumbled through the drawer a bit longer, finding a lighter near the front. I flicked it on, the flame shining a few feet away before fading. I found a candle on the counter (since when did we have candles?) and lit it. I set the candle near the open drawer, opening the flashlights to check the batteries. The batteries were replaced by a piece of paper. What the crap was a piece of paper doing in a flashlight? I unfolded it, seeing a note.

"Sorry, I stole all of the batteries! Why, you ask? Well, I needed some… I had a great need for batteries or something. Anyway, just use the candle, okay!" At the bottom corner was a poorly-drawn picture of a smiley face with spiky red…

"Axel…" I muttered, sighing as I threw the flashlights back into the drawer. I grabbed the stupid candle and brought it upstairs, only to find Xion up in a corner, her eyes wide as she stared fearfully into her closet. "Xion! What is it?" I asked, setting the candle on her dresser and running across the room.

"The… The lightning and… And something in the closet…" she said, wide-eyed as she pointed at the closet her eyes were glued to. I sighed.

"I'm sure it was just a shadow, you don't have to be scared," I said, my hand on her shoulder. Her eyes stayed glued to the closet doors.

"It was a shadow… A huge shadow…" she muttered, holding out her hand. She summoned her Keyblade.

"Whoa, I thought you just said it was just a shadow?" I cried. She nodded, standing shakily, a blast of thunder scaring her back onto the bed. I sighed, lowering her hand and taking the Keyblade from her.

"It's still there," she said, seeming more exhausted than afraid now, her eyebrows curving up. "But you don't believe me."

"I believe you," I sighed, summoning a Keyblade of my own- I'll play along. I think the lightning messed up her eyes. I opened up the closet, Xion jumping behind me and grabbing a handful of my sleeve, jerking me back. I was about to ask her what that was for when a claw blacker than the surrounding darkness sliced the air in front of me. "Whoa!" I cried, Xion and I stumbling backwards and into the dim candlelight. She was right, she did see a shadow. A Neo Shadow.

I mentally slapped myself for not believing Xion as the Neo Shadow melted to the floor and became another shadow in the darkness. I turned around to see the Neo Shadow reappear behind Xion, slicing her head as she spun around and jumped away. I clenched my teeth, my plain Keyblade transforming into the Oathkeeper and Oblivion from my journal. I placed them against each other and a flash of light later, Two Become One was in my hand- the fusion of the two, becoming one. My fists wrapped around it's handle tightly, I swung once and it was gone.

I huffed, the Keyblade disappearing as it fell to the floor. Xion's head was bleeding furiously. Deep red stained the beige carpet. She stood watching me, not even trying to hold the gash closed. Her face grew more and more pale in the dim light. Oh crap. I ran and caught her before she could hit the floor, a hand held over the cut across the top of her head.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap…" I muttered repeatedly, glancing around the room. I had to get something to wrap around her head- I mean, there was no gauze like on the doctor shows. I propped her head up on my knee, keeping a hand on her bleeding head as I slid off my jacket. I pinned it under my foot and tried to tear it into thin pieces. It was too thick, plus I'm not that strong anyway. I took out my Keyblade and tore it into strips, finally able to wrap it over her head where it would stay. She had better wake up soon.

* * *

So I mixed it up a bit (=D) *SUSPENSE SUSPENSE* (X])


	40. Delay

Heheh, sorry, I know it's later in the day than when I usually post (since I usually try to post before or around noon, but anyway.) The reason being- I just got a new book! ^^ "Hunger Games" series by Suzanne Collins? Heard of it? Well, the books are freakin' awesome, and I just got the third and final book of the trilogy that I have been waiting for since the beginning of this year! WOOT! ^o^ Hah, yeah, I'm excited if you couldn't tell X3.

So anyway, here is the next chapter, hope you like it. A little grim at the end- but what can I say, it's a change of pace, you know?

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Delay**_

I sat in the darkness, the lights flicking back on. Xion's light wasn't on in the first place, so I still remained in the dark. The lightning faded, then the thunder, and lastly the rain. She still wasn't conscious. I sat, staring back and forth from her to the floor, waiting. The sun never returned, thought the moon made it's appearance. I waited.

Her eyes opened to the full extent of a squint. But that was enough.

"Xion! You've always got to scare me, don't you?" I sighed, thinking of my journal again- my past.

"Roxas, wha- Oh, that's right," she breathed, sitting up. She winced, walking- well, more like stumbling- to her bed. She turned around, leaning against the wall in a sitting position. "What's on my head?" she asked as if she just noticed. She touched it, loosing her breath for several minutes as I watched helplessly. "…Ow," she said through her gritted teeth after many stuttering attempts, and shakily at that. "What… Happened…" she breathed, leaning forward as her face became pale again. I carefully sat beside her on the bed, making sure to be very careful not to touch her head or anywhere near it.

"… The Neo Shadow got behind you and…" My eyes stayed focused on the floor. "I didn't kill it fast enough to… keep you… from…" I clenched my fists. I wished I could kill that thing all over again.

"That's right," she interrupted, keeping me from finishing- like I could. How are you supposed to tell someone you almost let them die? "And that's what happened to my head," she sighed, a wide grimace on her face.

"Uh, the power's back on," I said awkwardly.

"That's good," she replied, looking like she wasn't about to pass out anymore. "And… I'll be okay," she said, answering my unspoken question. She forced a smile as she tilted her head towards me. She didn't look at me- in fact, she kept her eyes closed. I stood.

"Okay. I'll… let you go to sleep then," I said, making up an excuse. I'm sure she didn't want me in there anyway. I wished that Neo Shadow would hurry up and come back to life so I could kill it again. "See you in the morning," I said, forcing my voice to sound lighter. My arms swung at my sides as I walked out rather swiftly, Xion catching one of them from where she sat. Using it to pull herself up and myself towards her, she gave me a hug.

"I'm not dead, Roxas," she laughed. "It's a cut. Long, but not deep- I'll be okay," she repeated, smiling. She then rolled her eyes, her grin widening with sarcasm as she added, "And stop being so freakin' dramatic about it." I grinned, nodding. "Now go to sleep," she said, turning me around and literally throwing me out of the room with one shove. I turned back around out of surprise, the door slamming in my face.

She's not okay. She's just trying to keep me from worrying, and it's not working at all. I sighed quietly, turning to my room and closing the door as well. I froze, thinking I heard something. I placed my ear against the wall Xion and I share. I listened carefully, hearing quiet, muffled sobs. I took my ear away, hearing nothing. I placed it back, and with it came the silent sobs.

She was trying to tough it out when I was around. She shoved me out of the room because she couldn't hold it in anymore. I felt sick. How bad was it, really? How little was she letting on right now?

We finally had normal lives to live, yet we still didn't. It was a lot like before, in the days of the Organization. We were always being followed by Heartless, though the Castle That Never Was kept them outside. This time, they got inside. And this time, they hurt her.

I'll never delay again.


	41. Sake

Wow, this makes the forty-first chapter I've posted. Heh, and I originally planned to have under twenty... ^^

Ok guys, I know this chapter's even shorter than the last one and there isn't much new material here- in fact, the beginning is just a recap of the last chapter's ending (0_0)... But I did throw in a PoV change, so... Um, again people, PLEASE give me some ideas in your reviews! I know what I'm doing for the next chapter, but that's as far ahead as I have planned! So please? Please? Heheh, thanks guys...

AAUUGGHH! People LIE on the internet! Birth by Sleep is NOT out yet! *Huff* (UnU) Anyway, here's the chapter (^u^,)

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Sake**_

As soon as she threw me out of the room I heard her cry once, then attempt to hide the sound by covering her mouth with her hands. I stood at my doorway, freezing at the sound as a cold chill traveled down my back. My mouth formed a deep scowl as I entered my room, placing my ear against the wall. My ear sharply caught every sound- again hearing the muffled sobs. The chill settled in my stomach, making me feel sick.

I should have gotten upstairs faster.

I should have taken the blow.

I sit at the top of my bed, leaning against the corner in the walls of my room. I glanced out the window a few inches from m shoulder and watched the hours of the night pass by. The moon had risen to its fullest and began its descent.

I grew restless, finally standing and walking into the hall. Xion's door was closed, same as before. I opened it as quietly as possible, finding something in its way. I knew what it was. Thankfully the door opened into the hall, so I was able to toss it back quickly and catch Xion before the hit the floor.

Blood. Still a lot of blood. It was soaking its way through the makeshift bandage, soon dripping to the floor if I didn't repair it. I carried her across the hall and into the bathroom, the only place in the house without carpet. I ripped a towel into about ten long strips, tying them all around her head. I collected the knots on either side of the cut as to keep her from laying on it in her sleep and reopening it. I placed her sleeping figure back into her room- this time on her bed, not back on the floor- and shut the door back in it's place.

**Xion's Point of View**

I woke up, seeing the door close softly behind- yeah, that's Roxas. It must have been late at night or really early in the morning since it was still so dark outside. I was tired and stiff and in pain.

I sat upright- what a mistake. Every bit of pain gathered at the back of my head and called in their reinforcements. I sucked in air in one big gasp before covering my mouth with my hands. Like last night when I was just able to get Roxas out and I… I was against the door, not in my bed. I couldn't make it over here if I tried. My breath steady, now having been given the time to adjust to the pain, I rubbed my fingers across the cloth on my head. It wasn't that silky fabric from Roxas jacket that I touched but a soft, fuzzy material.

I took my time, slowly taking each step up against a wall just in case I couldn't continue, and made my way to my door. Slipping across the hall without waking Roxas, I silently opened the door to the bathroom and closed it behind me. I looked into the sole mirror in the house (no need for more than one), seeing towel shreds around my head like a circlet. Roxas's doing, obviously. Heheh, he even dug out my least favorite towel- one of the orange ones that sort of came with the house. I care more for black and blue than orange or pink- too bright and sunshiny for me.

I begin to unwrap the cloths to see the cut, but decide against it since Roxas probably spent so much time on it. Instead I ease my way back into my room, careful not to make any wrong moves and reopen the wound.

I knew I was being too wimpy about it, but it isn't like I could help it. I sat on my bed- a bit too hard. Since I was already on the verge on collapsing, I was happy to be on my bed. I withheld my scream and instead, for once, allowed tears to spill over. I lifted my head, staring at the ceiling and blinking vigorously, sucking the tears back under my eyelids. I had to be strong. I had to stay tough.

Not for my sake. For his.


	42. Fault

I'm sorry guys. Time got away from me yesterday, so I had to push this chapter back another day. But here it is, at long last (^_^,) A little comedy, a little drama- DANG! This thing has _WAAAY_ too much drama! (O.o) **_(I hate drama, too!)_**

Special thanks to Archsage328 for the idea! ^^

Oh, and my brother was talking about the PSN (PlayStation Network) version of it, not the disk. The disk may not be as great quality, but hey, KH! WOOT! ^^ (Though I am very angry that I already spent the money on the PSN point things and I'm not going to get to use them now O_o But hey, maybe some new CoD maps will come out or something. CAN'T WAIT FOR BLACK OPPS!)

*Sidenote: I know I most likely misspelled everything in this little opening thingy up here, but I've quit trying to spell (XD)

RAMBLING! ANYWAY! READ- IF YOU WANT TO! IT'S NOT LIKE I'LL STEAL YOUR COOKIES IF YOU DON'T! X3

* * *

****_**Sanctuary**_

_**Fault**_

I stumbled downstairs and raided the cabinets for breakfast. _Pop!_ Pop Tarts popped out of the toaster. I plucked them from the slots, toasting my fingers. My nerves, like myself, were luckily still half asleep as I picked the pastry apart. Swirling smoke appeared in front of me, Axel emerging from it's core.

"Hey buddy, still sleepin'?" he said, stealing my two Pop Tarts.

"My breakfast," I replied, holding out my hand. He handed me one of the two, so I took it. We ate in silence. I glanced up the stairs, then back down. Xion was still asleep, so I guess that was good.

"…So what's up?" Axel said, looking up at Xion's door as well before directing his attention back to me.

"Why do you ask?" I retorted solemnly.

"What do you mean why? I just asked how things were goin' with you and Xion is all," he replied, braking off another piece of his Pop Tart.

"Just great," I snapped.

"Whoa, what's your problem?" he asked, cocking a thin eyebrow at me and brushing sprinkles from his hands.

"It's your fault!" I yelled, unable to contain my anger.

"What's my fault? Oh, don't tell me you and Xion got in a fight or something last night. The plan was to get you two closer…" he paused for a dramatic gesture, spreading apart his hands and bringing them together slowly. "_Together_," he finished, adding in a sarcastic face for good measure. He laughed, only to be interrupted.

"We _did_ get into a fight- with a Neoshadow! I left the room to get flashlights after the power went out when it crawled through the window! And because you stole the batteries, it took me that much longer to get back upstairs and protect her! Because of you, Xion's head got cut and she was bleeding and she was crying! …" I knew it was still partially my fault too, but at the moment, I couldn't bear all of the blame alone for fear I'd break down under it. Axel could help me, both of us under this pressure, this weight.

I bent my head and forced myself to calm down, my teeth and fists to unclench. I glanced back upstairs, making sure Xion was still asleep. Axel remained silent. I didn't know what he was thinking and I didn't care. I walked up the stairs, making an extra effort to lighten my steps as to keep from stomping. Without a second glance at Axel, I peered into Xion's room to find her sitting on the edge of the bed, touching her fingertips to the old towel now hardened with dried blood.

I should have taken her straight to the hospital as soon as it happened, but I could barely move her at all without the cut reopening and bleeding again. I was afraid she might shrivel up with all that blood gone. And I wasn't sure how much blood she could loose before something bad happened- well, something worse, anyway.

"Roxas," Xion's voice caught me from her bed. She looked at me through her bangs, her head still bent as the began to untie the knots in the towel. I was afraid that it would start bleeding again if something wasn't holding it closed. I rushed towards her as she untied the last knot and folded the towel in her hand. Her eyes widened at the sight of all of the dried blood as she threw it from her shaking hands to her nightstand.

I slowed my pace, seeing as how she wasn't bleeding again. My arms outstretched to retie the unnecessary knots, Xion caught them before I could return them to their place by my side.

And she cried. The sobs muffled by myself instead of the walls, Xion cried just like before. I wished I could do something else, anything more, but this seemed to be okay for now.

"I'm afraid," she whimpered. I wanted to tell her how lost I was, neither of us having anyone to help us besides Axel who I've probably run off by now. But if I told her, she'd only be that much more afraid than she already was. I bit my tongue. Maybe now's the time to try that hospital. She rested her forehead on my shoulder, hanging on my shirt. I hung my head. I was helpless. Again. She leaned closer, secured herself in my arms.


	43. Better

Hey guys! I'm back! I corrected two spelling errors in previous chapters and re-uploaded them, but that's just what I randomly found, so this one probably has typos, too, I don't know. XD

Anyway- I COULDN'T STAY AWAY! I am in the middle of playing Birth By Sleep as Ventus, which made me want to beat Days again- (which I'll do later on Proud Mode :3)- which made me miss my Fanfic... So I don't know if _**the planets aligned and scattered miracle dust on me or WHAT!**_ But I was just dieing to pick up my Fanfic again and the very same night, I find out that the lady (Debbie) that we've been hiring to stay with my Alzheimer grandmother, "Mudder," during the afternoons wanted to work more hours! Which means that my Dad and I don't have to go other to her house every single night to help her take her medicine and get her to bed- now Debbie is going to stay late enough to do that, and I'll just visit once or twice a week with my Dad to refill their medicine and stuff, so- _**yeah!**_ I'm so happy! Time to write!

You'll have to be patient for the next chapter, though, because I have to make my Dad a birthday present and a few other stuffed animal requests (ten, to be exact... oh my... 3 days for each at least and... never mind, not thinking about that right now! XD) So anyway, just be expecting a new chapter in about a month or two, heheh... (^u^,)

Also, check out my DeviantArt account (found in my description- just click my name!) when the next chapter comes out and I might have my picture of Naminé and Xion standing side-by-side (was going to draw Roxas, but I ran out of time and I don't know how well I can do his spikes XD). Hopefully, I'll have posted it just before I release the next chapter so that you guys can check it out.

Lastly, I incorporated that idea of yours, _archsage328_! Also, like I said, I needed to change it just a bit to make it fit, but I'll try my best! And I'm so pleased that this came out slightly too lighthearted to follow up that last one (XP) so I made this one a bit later. Anyway, hope you all like it!

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Better**_

Weeks passed. Xion's head was close to being healed and Axel and I were back on good terms.

"Yeah, emotions 'ill make you crazy," he responded after my apologies, a sucker as red as his hair twirling in his mouth. I didn't question him this time- I figured his forgiveness was plenty to ask him for that day. He handed Xion and I each a cherry sucker identical to his own- he found a new treat, and whenever he wasn't eating Sea Salt ice cream, he was dissolving a sucker in his mouth.

Xion and I mostly stayed indoors because of her injury, but with it scabbing up nicely, I figured that today would be a good day to get back to work on the chores that had been accumulating. I still owed the gang's parents for the money they spent on the house. Of course, Xion decided that she wanted to help out since she lived with me, but she still got dizzy upon occasion. I convinced her to relax for at least the rest of the day until she could stand up without getting dizzy, to which she agreed.

"I'm off," I smiled, waving to Xion who practiced standing up and keeping her balance. A puff of smoke later and Axel had arrived.

"I've come to babysit!" he grinned, hugging Xion around the shoulders as she laughed.

"Long time no see," she smirked, thinking of how he'd shown up every day since a few weeks ago.

"Agreed- in fact, you even remember who I am?"

"Hmm," she hummed, pretending to strain her brain as she pursed her lips, "Axcess?"

The room was filled with our laughter as I waved, making sure to add, "Don't burn the house down!" to my goodbye. Axel snapped his fingers.

"Every time, you remember," he sighed with sarcasm, shaking his head. "One day, you'll forget to say that. One day!" With Axel shaking his fist dramatically in the air, I began my walk down the street outside.

The sun was low in the morning's light, the heat of summer leaving for the time being. The alleyways between the tightly-packed orange houses cast a shadow as black as a Dark Corridor. Perhaps it was just my imagination from staying indoors for so long and feeling like a shut-in, but the shadows seemed to occasionally shift about. A few minutes after departing, The shadows shifted more than usual and three figures immerged. Seifer, Rai and Fuu were fully exposed the sun's rays as they threateningly approached me.

"Hey, there. Long time no see," I grinned nonchalantly, keeping my pace steady. After beating Seifer and his gang in the Struggle Tournament, I figured out that they weren't really anything to fear.

Seifer stepped quicker, moving in front of me and blocking my path. "Ahem, um, you're… occupying my space," I said casually, waving my hand as Rai made his way to my left and Fuu to the right. My smile dissolved and was replaced by a dead frown as I glared up at Seifer. "What's this about?"

"It's about you taking Xion from our group. She evened the odds and you took her out- and we're here to get her back," he growled.

"Heh," I chuckled, crossing my arms. "You're out of luck- Xion's still at home, and with Axel."

"You mean you have someone else the new group you created when you stopped, y'know, hanging out with Hayner and… split, y'know?" Rai said complicatedly.

" 'Axel,' huh? Well, now we have _three_ groups that are equal in numbers…" Seifer muttered.

"Unacceptable," Fuu growled, glowering at me closely as she took a step closer. I frowned back, unfazed as I laughed in my head at this short, furious girl who seemed ready to take me on in a one-on-one fight.

"So you want to fight about it? Alright," I shrugged. "This isn't exactly how I pictured spending my day, but my plans can wait a little longer," I smirked. I directed my attention back to Seifer as he pulled back his fist. I turned and caught it in the palm of my hand before pushing away from him, getting a good amount of distance between me and them. Seifer stumbled and caught himself with the help of Fuu as Rai crumpled his hand into a tight fist and glared at me from where I now stood in front of a wall.

"So why wait until now, though? Weren't you trailing me for a while?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, Seifer, he says he saw us, y'know…" Rai said, surprised.

"I heard him," Seifer seethed.

"We'll have to change our strategy for next time, y'know…" Fuu had helped Seifer up and was still holding onto his arm when she shook it, saying,

"The fight…?" pointing in my direction.

"Right," Seifer grinned, standing more upright than before. They began to approach me at once, and I closed my fist upon instinct and- no! I couldn't use a Keyblade against them. It would attract Heartless besides other problems.

Either way, the fight had begun.


	44. Seifer's Defeat

Wow, is this really the next chapter for the update? Hm, well, I'll ask everyone ahead of time for some more help (,/u\ ) I need some help if anyone has any ideas- I think I have a cool, action-y, dramatic, exciting way to tie things up! But if you want it a bit farther away than, eh, 5 chapters or so, I need as many emotions as you can think of, and I'll try to use 'em (you'll see in a few chapters).

Sorry it took so long, but with me spending the night at my best friend's house, whom I haven't seen in about a half a year (and lives more out in the country than me- with rarely working internet, might I add). Then I got home and heard my grandmother had died- but it for the best, she's better off! She was in the hospital for a week, so that's over, and now she doesn't have Alzheimer's. Wow, I'm getting even myself sad ('_') Anyway, time for happy violence, so that always fun :D

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Seifer's Defeat**_

I unclenched my fist to keep from summoning my blade as they approached me with oblivious grins as to who they were dealing with- or rather, who they would have been dealing with if I used my Keyblade. I frowned, fighting the Keyblade's power away from my mind as I fought in an ordinary fist fight. I stuck to avoiding blows and making them angrier for a time until they had me against the wall behind me. I saw an opening for another temporary escape as I formed my strategy, freezing at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Roxas!" It was Xion, standing in the middle of the street looking me dead in the eyes with panic as Seifer took the opportunity to get a firm grip on my neck, slamming me against the orange bricks. I winced, gritting my teeth as I got a tight hold on his wrist- which I think only managed to cut off the circulation.

Xion stuffed whatever she was holding into her pocket and ran over furiously, leaping onto Seifer's back with her arms around his neck. He coughed, still gripping me steadily tighter as my face and chest felt the pressure of no air. Xion growled and scrambled onto his shoulders to get a better grip on him as Rai and Fuu tried to pull her off. Seifer's short temper initiated, causing him to release me and grab Xion by the leg.

I hurriedly jumped to my feet in time to catch Xion before Seifer tossed her to the ground. I glared at them before the instinct of the Keyblade reached my hands. With one hand on Xion who sat in my lap as I crouched on the ground, the other shining as bright as the now high sun, I heard footsteps down the street as Xion placed a hand on my arm and stared at me until I stopped.

"I told you I heard something!" I heard Pence shout. Xion glanced over her shoulder to see Pence pointing in our direction with Hayner and Olette behind him only feet away. Seifer and his gang glanced as well, frowning as they approached him. "Oh, hey Roxas! Xion!" Pence smiled.

"Hi," Xion nodded, flicking her eyes back and forth between him and Seifer.

"Whoa, you guys alright?" Hayner asked, eying us carefully.

"We're okay," she smiled, a hand on my shoulder.

"Uh, Hayner, I think you're forgetting who's here with us," Olette whispered, nodding at the scowling, motionless group beside us.

"Oh, right," he frowned.

"Stay out of this," Seifer growled.

"Yeah, this is our fight, y'know!" Rai nodded.

"Excluded," Fuu added grimly, casting a cold glare.

"What?" Olette inquired, scratching the side of her head. "You mean your starting another fight? That's not fair, they're outnumbered!"

"Not anymore," Hayner frowned, crossing his arms and her stepped in front of us.

"Yeah, we've had enough of you- wait, this isn't even your side of town!" Pence cried, he and Olette joining Hayner.

"Now it's fair," Olette smirked, cracking her knuckles. Who knew she could look so evil? Rai swallowed, Fuu crossing her arms.

"You really thing you can take us on?" Seifer smirked, stepping forward and rubbing his neck.

"Looks like you've already been beat up a little, so this should be easy," Hayner grinned, glancing back at us with more of an appreciative smile. Xion frowned, watching as carefully as I was.

"Injuries…?" Fuu glanced up at Seifer who quickly slipped his hand away from his neck.

"They're right, y'know," Rai said, glancing at Seifer nervously.

"Shut up, I'm fine," he growled, his voice sounding slightly hoarse. Hayner laughed, Seifer growing more angry by the second as he leapt forward to engage Hayner in their own battle. I watched as Hayner expertly leaped around Seifer's blows (from experience, I suppose) and turned to the offensive at just the right times. Rai and Fuu stepped forward to help, only to be blocked by Pence and Olette.

Rai stayed on the offensive, leaving Pence to defend easily- his apparent strategy to let Rai wear himself out going smoothly. Fuu, however, stayed on the defensive, though Olette landed a surprising amount of swift kicks.

Somehow, the three battles merged as Hayner, Pence and Olette worked Seifer's gang backwards and well into their own territory. Xion and I stared in amazement as they quickly sent them fleeing the rest of the way.

"Seifer, we have to go, y'know?" Rai cried nervously.

"Retreat!" Fuu shouted, each grabbing Seifer and dragging him behind them. I turned to Xion in amazement, her own surprised expression reflecting back.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled, her face flushed. "I must be heavy," she grinned as she shakily stood, myself coming with her. I laughed.

"That's what you're worried about?" Her knees buckled, leaving me to catch her again as she caught my hand for support.

"S-sorry! Stupid legs…" she muttered, rubbing her red cheek with the tip of her finger. I crouched back onto one knee, sitting her back down in my lap just as Axel appeared, running around the corner.

"Xion!" he shouted after stopping in his tracks once he saw us. "You were supposed to wai- oh, hey Roxas. Are you done already? If so, we can go grab some ice cream," he said as he approached us at a walk. He glanced at Xion's hand in mine and the other on my shoulder in our seat on the orange brick path. "Oh, never mind, pretend I didn't even show up!" he grinned, waving his hands and backing away.

"What's up with you?" I asked Axel as Xion glanced around quickly. "Wait, why weren't you two at home?"

"Well…" Xion began slowly. "You forgot the keys to the other's houses at home, and Axel said that he'd come with me, but he got called away for a mission. He said he'd go see Saïx and put off his mission till later-"

"And told you to wait until I got back for you to leave!" Axel frowned, snapping his mouth shut. "I mean, I'm not here, so- ah, well, the moment has passed," he sighed, coming back over to us. Xion reached in her pocket and pulled out a key ring with three keys on it, placing it in my hand.

"Heheh, well, here," she grinned. "Okay- one more time!" she cried, making a fist as dramatic determination flashed across her face, turning to Axel and stretching out her hands. He sighed as he pulled her up, myself just behind again. "There," she frowned.

"I don't think jumping on Seifer was the best idea for you right now," I smirked.

"Huh?" Axel blinked, passing one of Xion's hands over to me. Xion and I grinned as Hayner, Pence and Olette came running back with victorious grins.


	45. Emotions

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Emotions**_

Hayner, Pence, Olette, Axel, Xion and I ate ice cream up at the clock tower that afternoon. Pence cracked jokes about Seifer, Xion laughing at my right when they said she looked like a monkey climbing on his back. Axel sat to my left as we both absentmindedly stared out at the mansion in the middle of the forest. I saw Naminé walk by the window, stopping to wave as I waved above my head in return. Xion looked in my direction before turning to the mansion and waving as well.

The next day, I decided to pay her a visit. I told Xion where I'd be, but she decided not to come. I arrived at the mansion, pulled out my Keyblade to unlock the gate and closed it behind me as I made my way through the white halls.

"Hello, Roxas," she smiled, turning around after putting up another picture on the wall.

"Any new drawings?" I asked, looking at the one she just placed on the wall. It was of white pod, with someone inside.

"Yes," she sighed.

"Is that… Sora?" I asked, thinking of the descriptions of my dreams from my journal.

"…Yes," she repeated with another, sadder sigh.

"I thought he woke up when Xion and I were reborn…?"

"He was supposed to," she frowned, a sense of urgency as she looked up at me, "but he hasn't!"

"What? And you don't know why?"

"I… do have a theory," she said slowly. "I think… you two are still too strongly connected to Sora even though he has his memories back."

"What do you mean?"

"The reason that you were able to be reborn in the first place is because you and Xion were developing your own hearts. However, as your hearts develop, you will be able to discover new emotions and… I think you and Xion need to experience each emotion until your ties with Sora are severed, and you are your own people."

"Okay… So what else do Xion and I need to experience?"

"Let's see… You've already come across 'happiness'," she listed as she flipped through her sketchbook, the first page she turned to having a crayon drawing of Xion and I at the Struggle Tournament. " 'Sadness,' 'anger,' 'fear,' 'hope,' 'guilt'… 'embarrassment'," she giggled as she turned to a sketch of Xion and I when we went to Destiny Islands.

"Uh, so, what else do need?"

"Hm, I suppose you could get by just with the major emotions," she frowned, myself giving her a questioning look. "By 'major,' I mean the stronger emotions that sometimes drive people to do things that they most likely wouldn't do otherwise- like when someone is happy, they smile. Or, in a more extreme case, if someone is angry, they might become more impulsive."

"Like Seifer," I suggested.

"Right," she smiled. "So, the stronger emotions you haven't experienced… 'Love,' 'jealousy'-"

" 'Jealousy'? What's that?" I asked.

"Heheh, you'll have to find out," she winked. "In fact, keep coming to the mansion. I think I know a way to trigger 'jealousy'," she said mysteriously as I frowned nervously. I met up with Axel and Xion on the clocktower later for ice cream.

"So I see you spent all day at Naminé's," Axel said before biting into his ice cream dully.

"Yeah," I replied.

"So why'd you go, anyway?" Xion asked.

"I just wanted to visit," I shrugged, making sure not to mention the visits with Xion as Naminé asked.

"So what took all day? We've been up here for a while before you showed up," Axel frowned.

"Nothing," I frowned in return.

"Why won't you tell us?" Xion pouted, looking at her blank ice cream stick.

"Can't. It's a secret," I grinned.

"No fair," she frowned, standing up. "Well, I'll be at home if you decide to tell me," she smiled, descending the stairs.

"Okay, see you later," I grinned in return. Axel tossed his wooden stick away and pulled out a sucker.

"You think I'm gonna' get cavities?" he asked, leaning onto his knees.

"Yes," I laughed.

"Oh, was that funny?" he asked, looking at me seriously.

"To me, anyway," I frowned. "Why?" He shrugged, spinning the sucker with his fingertips. "I thought you were good at faking that stuff?"

"Eh, I think I've lost my touch," he grinned. "Just been a while, ya' know?"

"Since what?"

"Since I had a heart, idiot," he chuckled.

"If I'm such an idiot, why do you still hang around?" I grinned.

"Good question," he said, rolling his eyes. "That's what friends do- _not_ question why we hang out with idiots," he grinned.

"Speaking of which," I paused, thinking, "I've found out that the reason that friends hang out is because it makes them happy. But you don't have a heart, so-"

"Why do I think of you guys as friends?" he finished, watching the red sky surrounding the sunset. " 'Guess it's because I can look at you two and see that," he paused, pulling the sucker out from the corner of his mouth. " 'Happiness' isn't something I remember, you know. I just remember when I smiled or frowned- not the feeling. It's… amusing to see you and Xion with hearts," he smiled.

"…You know, Naminé said that Sora won't wake up until Xion and I experience our own emotions, making our hearts complete- and completely separate," I said, seeing Axel instinctively frown at Sora's name. "I wasn't supposed to tell Xion because this is supposed to make us uncover something new. When I find out what that is, I'll tell you all about it," I smiled.

"Right," he grinned.

* * *

Wow, it's been about a month since I last posted D: Right now, I'm writing the final chapter- 3 chapters away!- so, again, if you want them to experience any other emotions, I suggest adding them to your review (if you do review) and I'll add it in before I reach the end!

*Also, I'm on Spring Break right now- 2 weeks!- and to anyone else on Spring Break as well, have a great one!*


	46. Jealousy

Hello there! Long time, no fanfic, but I'm on Summer Break now! Hurray! Anyway, I loved the ideas that you guys gave me along the way, especially my last request of another emotion. Archsage328 deserves a special thanks for suggesting 'pride' as another emotion. I would have loved to fit that in, but I didn't know where to place it with the end in three chapters! (Maybe you can refer back to when they were naming of who should get the title of the first to summon their Keyblades, etc. ? ^^)

Again, thanks to all the readers who've had patience enough to wait on my slowness ;D

You deserve a good ending, so I hope you enjoy the last three chapters!

* * *

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Jealousy**_

Weeks passed and I continued to visit the mansion, though nothing spectacular ever occurred. Though one day, I arrived home and Xion took off. When she left, she seemed unhappy, though when she came back, she seemed relieved.

"Where'd you go?" I asked.

"To visit Naminé," she smiled.

"…And?" I pried, looking at her expectantly.

"She said to come tomorrow because she had something planned for us. She said that it should explain 'jealousy' to you," she stated, about to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I frowned, raising an eyebrow.

"You won't like it," she giggled.

"I won't like what?"

" 'Jealousy'," she smirked.

"So you're saying you know what it is?"

"Exactly," she said, cracking up again.

"It doesn't sound so bad," I laughed.

"Oh, that's not what I'm laughing about. You'll see," she chuckled, shaking her head. I shrugged, though the next day, I understood what she meant.

I arrived at the mansion, as usual, though Naminé wasn't inside. I noticed it was Xion who sat by the window, though she was talking and laughing with someone wearing an Organization cloak like Axel's. I frowned, seeing the silvery-white hair of the man who was obviously not Axel.

I was able to take one step forward before my body seemed to freeze, the two shifting their position where they were much closer beside one another. My frown deepened, confused. Why was she talking to someone as if they were friends, despite the fact that I knew she didn't know this person? More importantly, why did I feel sick just looking at their folded-together hands, or the way she leaned against him with his arm around her shoulder? Xion, it seemed, was able to drain every degree of warmth from my body in that one second, absorbing every ounce of life in me and leaving me feeling… empty.

Was this 'jealousy'? If so, I knew now that Xion was right in saying that it wasn't the best experience, making you feel almost lost. Though I still didn't understand why she had been laughing, or why she was laughing now with whoever this was, or what about this situation did this to me.

I heard a tap on the door behind me, making me blink and return to reality. I saw Naminé smile and run past me as she hugged the boy by the waist. He and Xion instantly turned around, Xion standing up and walking over to my stunned self. Her smiled turned sharply into a concerned frown, though when I turned to face her, she nearly started to laugh. I looked back over to Naminé, trying to determine the situation. The white-haired man looked down at Naminé, who still clung to his waist.

"Thanks, Riku, I think you did pretty well," she giggled, smiling up at his blindfolded eyes. He scratched the side of his face, frowning as he said,

"Uh, sure… Anything to wake up Sora." I still stared at the others in the room with me until Naminé eventually turned away from 'Riku' to say,

"Oh, we should probably tell Roxas, huh?" Naminé grinned with Xion giggling by my side, the man by the window trying to stand up with Naminé just now releasing her hug.

"Well, you know how you've been spending so much time at the mansion recently?" Xion asked, as I slowly nodded my head. "Well, I was 'jealous' that you'd been spending so much time with Naminé."

"Really?" I asked, making an awful face.

"Yeah," she laughed. "So I told Naminé how much it was upsetting me, but she said that she had planned for that to happen, and needed my help to make you feel the same way. To which, I obviously agreed," she said, gesturing to the boy standing beside Naminé.

"Riku said he would do me a favor and help trigger 'jealousy' for you," Naminé said, turning to smile sweetly up at him. "Oh, this is one of Sora's friends." Ah, so I recognized him from my journal description.

"So the girl with the red hair that looked like Xion was Kairi," I muttered, Riku nodding as he glanced at Xion. Xion glanced at me before frowning at my expression.

"You know, I'm not sure if it was out of wanting to help Sora or revenge on you for making me feel the same way, but if it was for revenge, I might have gotten you back too well," she said, her look of concern fading and a smile taking over as she hugged me, returning the warmth that I had lost.


	47. Natural

_**Sanctuary**_

_**Natural**_

I learned that Naminé's plans of triggering emotions was pretty troublesome and, more often than not, un-enjoyable. Though one day she said that her past few methods haven't worked, to my and Xion's surprise.

"That's true," Xion commented, tapping her chin. "I don't remember ever feeling something I couldn't identify these past few days… What were you trying to trigger, making Roxas and I eat alone?" she frowned sharply. Yes, the only thing of significance that happened was Xion experiencing almost catching her hair on fire when she laughed and threw her head back, hitting one of the dozens of candles in the room. She was able to put it out in less than a second, but that just caused me to laugh too hard and swallow a bite of steak whole. "Don't make us do anything so chaotic next time, okay?" she grinned.

"Right," Naminé said, raising an eyebrow. There was a long silence until she finally said, "Oh, I can't think of anything right now. Why don't you two do whatever you want today while I think of something else…" she frowned.

"Does Axel have anything to do today?" I asked, turning to Xion. "If not, we could all go to the beach again."

"Huh, I'm not sure. Let's go home, he might already be there." And sure enough he was, sitting on the couch with his sucker watching TV.

"Well, it looks like he doesn't have any missions today," I grinned.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" he grinned widely.

"Mission status report!" Xion demanded.

"None, sir!" he laughed, saluting. "Well, none that I can't put off, anyway."

"Slacker!" I mocked, pointing at him sharply. "Your punishment is to come with us to the beach!"

"Hm, that is a real punishment," he grinned, Xion playfully hitting the back of his head.

"Shut up," she grinned. "Are you coming or what?"

"Wish I could," he sighed. "But I've been, as you said, 'slacking' quite a bit. Ah, I need a vacation," he frowned, folding his arms behind his head.

"Aw, that's too bad," Xion frowned.

"You two should still go, though," Axel pressed, raising his eyebrows as he took the sucker from his mouth.

"I guess," I frowned, shrugging and turning to Xion.

"Sure," she shrugged in return.

"Good," he smiled triumphantly. "I'll be off then." He stood up slowly, groaning loudly until he opened his Dark Corridor and breezily walked into it's depths. Xion and I changed our clothes to light shorts and shirts. We decided to go to the beach and just walk by the shore, enjoying each others company. We made small talk until Xion and I began to play a game- we each asked each other a question and we had to answer truthfully, no matter what. It was fun to find out more about each other.

"Xion," I paused, thinking of a question. "Hm… Oh, this one's good- what did you think of me the first time you saw me?"

"Well, after we were reborn, I didn't know who you were, so when you knocked me out of the arena I was angry and really weirded out," she grinned, myself laughing. "But I wrote something in my journal that was more truthful," she said, looking up at the sky as the sun made it's way to the horizon.

"Go on," I pressed, grinning as I grabbed her shoulders. She laughed, knocking me away as we continued walking.

"Let's see… 'I was assigned a mission paired with Number XIII, Roxas. He has a Keyblade like mine, which is strange considering we are the only members with the same weapon in the entire Organization. I find it amusing how his blue eyes focus and his blond spiky hair swishes when kills Heartless.' That's about it. Sorry," she giggled. "Now for you're answer," she said, appearing amused.

"That depends: what I wrote in my journal, or after our rebirth?"

"Both," she grinned.

"Well, in my journal I wrote about how you wore your cloak's hood for the first few days, and you never said anything. I thought that was sort of awkward, but later you asked if you could call me Roxas, and I was surprised, but happy. Then, you took off your hood and I finally realized that you were a girl," I laughed, Xion seeming a bit surprised before laughing along. "No worries, though. According to my journal, since I knew that Larxene was a girl, and your much prettier than she was, I immediately felt stupid for not figuring it out earlier," I grinned.

Xion stared at me at first as if to see if I was serious. When she knew, she seemed to quickly look away at the waves that lapped at our feet and splashed up at our knees, the tide coming in stronger by the second. I couldn't tell if it was her or the red light from the setting sun, but her face was definitely red. She was smiling, though, so I continued.

"And after we were reborn…" I paused, taking Xion's hand as she glanced up in surprise. "First, lets get some distance between us and the water before a big wave comes and drowns us," I smiled, Xion turning to smile in return and squeezing my hand. I didn't know if Xion felt the same, but I felt happy to the point of weightlessness. I simply had to laugh as a giant wave pushed us farther up on the beach and knocked us over, not even bothering to catch ourselves as we landed in the sand. I turned on my side to face Xion who was still laughing, still clutching my hand, the waves still lapping at our toes as the larger waves pushed towards us.

"Go on," she smiled, turning on her side to face me as I had done.

"When I saw you take off the jacket and show your face, I immediately knew it was you. I was overjoyed that you were safe and more importantly by my side again. When you ran off, of course I had to chase you- I wasn't going to lose you again," I frowned, Xion tucking her head slightly under my chin. She whined, looking up at me again.

"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes showing the deepest sorrow. For some reason, this upset me as well.

"What for?" I frowned.

"Well, I imaged what it would be like if you disappeared. I couldn't think about it without my heart hurting. If the same goes for you, and you realized that I wasn't with you before I even knew who you were…" she mumbled, the sun almost hidden under the horizon behind her head. She locked eyes with me for what seemed like hours, a trance-like state that could only be described as perfect peace. The last rays of the sun vanished and the stars gleamed stunningly, only to be dulled by what seemed like something as natural as waving hello or shaking hands; Xion and I leaned our heads together until we met each other's lips.


	48. The Last Emotion

**Sanctuary**

**The Last Emotion**

"Hello? Are you Roxas and Xion?" I feminine voice called a few feet away. Xion and I slowly turned away from each other to prop ourselves on our elbows, seeing a young red-head coming towards us.

"Yes," I answered, Xion nodding in turn.

"Oh, good! Hurry, hurry! Take me to Naminé's, please!" she exclaimed.

"What? Why?" I asked as she tugged on my and Xion's wrists.

"Because, Riku came and told me to find you, and have us all go to Naminé's, that's why! Sora's awake!" I turned to Xion who also held the same surprised, smiling face as me. I nodded, forming a Dark Corridor in front of me with the excited Xion and the anxious girl who I had no doubt was Kairi by my side. I grasped Kairi's hand with my left to lead her into her unfamiliar territory, and Xion's hand was in my right.

We entered, and even through the thick, concealing darkness, I could tell some kind of unknown, subtle difference between the girl to my right and the one at my left. Before I had more time to think on the matter, however, we stepped into the pod room in the basement. I felt Kairi's hand fall loosely from mine. I looked up, scanning the room. Near the wall stood Riku, inches from Naminé's side who was talking to…

"Sora," Kairi called at nothing more than a whisper. Sora immediately stopped his conversation with Naminé and Riku to turn full-circle towards Kairi. Their eyes seemed to glow at each other as Sora and a crying Kairi ran full speed at each other in reunion. Sora's face flushed and his eyes widened as Kairi locked her arms behind his neck, kissing his lips and nearly knocking him backwards.

I wondered if that's how Xion and I had looked moments ago. I could help but laugh, turning to face Xion who still stood at my side. She smiled, stepping closer. I grinned as she leaned her face close to mine, until we touched our lips again.

"Hehay!" I heard a familiar voice call. Xion and I broke apart, turning to see that approaching us was none other than our tall, red-headed companion, waving as he ran. "I knew it'd happen someday!"

"Axel! Why are you here?" Xion asked.

"And what are you talking about?" I added.

"Naminé got in touch with me and said that Sora was awake. Now, normally, I wouldn't have any sympathy for the guy who almost made you two disappear, but if he's awake, that means you two aren't connected to him anymore and you've, ah, experienced all your emotions…" he said with a wide grin.

"Yes, that's right…" I said, still puzzled.

"But what was the last emotion?" Xion asked. Axel stared at us like we were completely blind.

"Oh! Ahahah, you got me! You had me going! Not knowing what the last emotion was- you guys are so funny!- Please tell me you're not serious?" We answered with a blank stare. "Ugh! You guys are hopeless!"

"Do you see Sora and Kairi over there?" Naminé said as she approached us. This was one of the few times where Riku wasn't by her side. Instead, he was alongside Sora and Kairi who couldn't look happier if they tried.

"Yeah? But we've already been 'happy'."

"Look closer," she suggested sweetly. We did. It took a minute before we seemed to notice a mood much like happiness, but a bit different. Sora's face was still red. That doesn't happen just because you're happy. As Kairi spoke to Sora and Riku, her eyes still had that slight glow to them. That doesn't fit happiness either.

"You're right. They're more than happy…" Xion smiled.

"Do you know yet?" Xion and I looked at each other for a moment with questioning stares. "It's 'love'."

"What's that?" I asked. Naminé stifled a giggle.

"You should know," she grinned. "You two look exactly like Sora and Kairi right now!"

This almost came as a shock to Xion. Obviously she hadn't paid attention to Sora and Kairi as they reunited, but I did wonder where she was looking. I turned back to Xion who was staring at me again. For a moment there was silence between us besides the talk of the three friends on the other side of the room. Then they seemed to pause, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kairi pointing us out and introducing us to Sora. I was preoccupied, however, as Xion laughed.

"I see she got it!" Axel grinned. Xion continued to laugh until she noticed that I still didn't really get it.

"Really? Were we like this from the beginning?" she asked Axel who nodded with a wide grin. "And we just now figured it out… Roxas? Do you still not know?" she asked, a bit surprised as she saw I still looked clueless. "Oh, I guess I'll have to explain it in the way that I understood." She leaned forward and kissed me again before pulling away to continue. "Would you do_ that _to anyone else here?"

"No," I said, almost laughing myself.

"Good! (Since you didn't get it, I was worried there for a second!) Anyway! That's it."

"What do you mean 'that's it'? I already knew that!" Xion giggled again.

"Well then, you know as much as I do. Which must be the most important part if that's the first thing we figured out, right?"

"I guess so…" I nearly jumped when I noticed how intently the others were watching us, which made Xion laugh again, which made me smile and not care again.

Sora came to meet us, followed by Kairi while Riku broke away to be with Naminé. We stared for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

"So you guys are… me?" he said, giving us a puzzled look despite his wide smile.

"So we've been told," I laughed. And that's all it took. We got along pretty well- of course, that's a given, considering we were the same person. After that, Sora and Kairi hung out with us and Axel, as well as Riku and Naminé. With each passing day, we learned more about our newest emotion, and there were many, many more kisses.

**THE END**

* * *

I hope you enjoyed Roxas and Xion's journey as well as the ending! If you want to see the next story I'm working on, please visit:

www.

ForcingAnimation

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**Thank you for reading this fanfic and sticking with me for over an entire year! Enjoy your summer!**


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